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Austin Anderson, Vortex Global, USA, discusses ways to address safety concerns surrounding dust in the workplace.
aterial dusting and equipment leakage plague factories across the globe. The hazards generated by dust increase the risk of explosion, material waste, and loss of profit. The rogue dust also imposes potential health and safety concerns for employees and environmental consequences for nearby communities and ecosystems. Employees of manufacturing plants and factories face potential exposure to these hazards on a daily basis. In recent years, these facilities have faced tighter regulations and restrictions by federal and local agencies to protect their employees and prevent environmental pollution. Common issues faced by employees in dust-ridden environments include irritated skin due to allergic reaction, irritation of the lungs due to inhalation of potentially toxic materials, and slips, trips, and falls due to dust accumulation on surfaces. Fugitive dusts can also
accumulate to form a dust cloud that can ignite, burn, and in some instances, explode. Employee and plant safety are key components in dust control. In many applications, dust-tight valves can help mitigate some of these concerns by drastically reducing the percentage of fugitive dusts. Dust-tight valves can help facilities mitigate potentially detrimental effects simply by the way they are designed. Dust migrates through the path of least resistance. This can be a challenge when using soft polymers and packing as seals. Many dust-tight valves designed today feature hard polymers as a sealing surface, because they tend to offer better wear characteristics for most applications. When replacing a regular valve with a dust-tight valve, it is important to verify that the connections between the valve and what sits above and below are tight. For example, transition flanges need to be true and flat, with
SUMMER 2021 . DRY BULK . 35
