Clemco Offers Blasting Dust Analysis Ahead of OSHA Deadline

Clemco is offering services for abrasive blasting finishers in order to help them meet the September 7, 2020, deadline for completing a dust hazard analysis (DHA). The DHA is necessary to be compliant with OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (Directive Number: CPL 03-00-008). The requirement is part of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 652 standard on “The Fundamentals of Combustible Dust,” revised in 2019. 

The service is meant to determine whether a finishing firm’s blasting media is combustible, since noncombustible dust requires no DHA. If dust from a finishing company’s blasting process is combustible, Clemco says it can design safe, cost-effective solutions to ensure compliance with NFPA 652 and OSHA standards. 

These services involve two possible steps after contracting with Clemco: 

• Based on tests Clemco has performed on similar abrasive blasting operations, the company may be able to determine whether a customer’s operation produces noncombustible dust. If Clemco cannot provide guidance based on previous tests, a simple go/no-go test (pass/fail test), part of an ASTM E1226 test series, can be performed for under $1,000. If Clemco determines that a customer’s operation produces noncombustible dust, the customer does not need to take further action.
• If dust from a customer’s abrasive blasting operation is combustible, Clemco’s product safety engineer can apply prescriptive and performance-based approaches to find a safe, cost-effective solution to ensure compliance and protect employees and facilities. The recommendations will be based on approaches outlined in the primary reference documents, “NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust” and “NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids.”