Dust control is a significant safety concern in agricultural and food processing facilities. NFPA 61, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities, 2020 edition is a powerful resource for implementing appropriate dust control measures to reduce the risks of deadly and destructive fire and explosion hazards.

The standard governs facilities that handle bulk agricultural materials, their by-products, and other combustible dusts. Requirements cover:

• Facility construction
• Ventilation and venting
• Heat transfer operations
• Dust control measures
• Equipment design and installation
• Explosion prevention and protection
• Pneumatic conveying
• Building fire prevention

NFPA 61 offers the latest provisions for helping to protect lives, property, and commodities in agricultural and food processing facilities.

Facility owner/operators, safety and health consultants, and code enforcers reference NFPA 61 for better protection of lives and property in bulk agricultural processing facilities, animal feed production facilities, starch manufacturing facilities, and food production facilities such as bakeries, cereal manufacturing facilities, snack food production, and candy manufacturing.

The 2020 edition features significant revisions, including:

• Changes to align the organization of NFPA 61 with NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust, as applicable
• Updated deadline for completing a dust hazard analysis (DHA) for existing processes and facility compartments to January 1, 2022
• Revised surface resistivity requirements for conveyor belts, lag belts, and lagging
• Addition of a new statement to exclude air-material separators with a dirty side volume of less than 0.2 m³ (8 ft³) from explosion protection requirements
• New sections on spray dryer systems, mixers and blenders, and work activities that present an ignition source
• Revised section on the management of change to clarify what is required to be addressed versus what is recommended
• Inclusion of annex material to provide information about the methods that can be used to complete a DHA, to determine filtering efficiency of dust collectors, and to provide protection methods for bins, silos, and tunnels where explosion venting is not practical
• Updated and expanded table on agricultural dust test data to include additional types of dust
• Replaced example checklist for completing a DHA with a more detailed, comprehensive example

Get up to date with cutting-edge provisions for managing and mitigating fire and explosion hazards of combustible agricultural or food processing dust or related particulate solids.

NFPA 61, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities, provides vital information on implementing a proper dust control program. Help keep your facility safe and compliant by placing your order today.