October 2020

34 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk October 2020 Health & Safety – Dust & Fume Extraction SPECIAL FOCUS products, this method is not totally fool-proof. Planning production schedules to isolate products containing allergens is a common tactic in manufacturing plants where a dedicated line cannot be allocated. Storage of ingredients should also be separated. Gluten in particular has become a major source of concern, with many sites introducing segregated gluten-free stations and changes of work clothes for operatives. Following several high-profile allergic fatalities, allergen labelling has been made stricter. Although consumers may be intolerant or have an allergic reaction to a range of ingredients, EU law lists no less than 14 that should be declared on pre-packed and non- pre-packed food and drink: celery, cereals that contain gluten (barley and oats), fish and crustacean shellfish, eggs, milk, lupin, molluscs (oysters), mustard, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, soybeans, and sulphur dioxide/sulphites. Sparc can assist food manufacturers who invest in the company’s X-ray and metal detector inspection systems by integrating an advanced label inspection system. As well as actively inspecting for allergen ID codes, these label systems also check product descriptions, bar codes, lot numbers and date codes. This checks for errors: mis-labelled products are automatically pushed into a rejection bin, safeguarding against potentially business critical events and product recalls. Information on all rejected products is automatically tracked by advanced data collection software. Combustible dust explosions Any workplace that generates dust is potentially at risk of explosion. In the food industry, particular risks emanate from grain elevators, bins and silos, as well as candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour and animal feed. But other products at risk include fertilizer, woodworking facilities, tyre and rubber manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and metal powder processing or storage (especially magnesium and aluminium). In 2014, a fatal combustible dust blast in a Chinese processing facility killed 75 people killed and severely injured 185. The blast is one of many that has recently affected China. There is also additional risk to health at much lower levels of exposure. In the United Kingdom during 2015-2016, 13,000 deaths were reported from past exposures at work, primarily to chemicals and dust. The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 set out the minimum requirements for improving health and safety protection within potentially explosive atmospheres through the safe handling and use of dangerous substances. In accordance with the regulations, it is the employer’s responsibility to protection employees from these risks to their safety in the workplace. Employers need to identify where explosive atmosphere conditions occur and to assess the risk and record what actions are being taken to prevent an explosion and fire. What are the conditions that employers need to assess to Implementing tighter hygiene controls can help prevent cross contact contamination of any kind. Sparc’s IP65K-rated, electrical x-ray, metal detection and combination panels are dust tight and are protected against low-pressure water jets