Dust explosion risks — Prevention and protection

By examining the sensitivity and severity characteristics of dust explosion using the methods described above, simple questions such as the following can be answered:

• will there be an explosive atmosphere in the vicinity of the plant or inside the equipment?

• what is the volume affected by the explosive atmosphere present or possible under the operating conditions? Locate the areas concerned;

• is the volume of the explosive atmosphere dangerous?

If this examination leads to the conclusion that an explosive atmosphere is present or possible, and that it represents a hazard, preventive and protective measures must be taken.

Possible prevention and protection measures include :

• measures to prevent or limit the formation of an explosive atmosphere. These are preventive measures;

• measures to prevent the ignition of an explosive atmosphere;

• measures to limit the consequences of an explosion of the explosive atmosphere to an acceptable level. These measures may be referred to as protection or consequence reduction measures.

The choice of preventive, protective or consequence-limiting measures in the event of a dust explosion can be based on an assessment of the sensitivity of the dust in terms of its EMI, as described in article .

Following on from the first "Characterization" section , this article describes the preventive, protective or consequence-limiting measures that can be envisaged.