For this 34,000 square foot telecommunication manufacturing center in Okeechobee, FL, Partner was asked to assess the flammability and explosion hazard of the fiberglass and resin dust generated in the finishing areas. Sampling requirements for combustible dust samples required the use of non-sparking, non-conductive equipment, such as natural bristle brush, plastic sample containers, aluminum dustpans and funnels.
The samples gathered from the manufacturing center were analyzed by EMSL and were both found to be flammable. The sample from the cutoff/finishing areas was determined to be explosive, while the resin area was undetermined due to insufficient sample volume in the proper particle size range. However, it is possible the dust found in the resin area would not be explosive due to the nature of particle size and the inability to create dust from the material present in the area. Partner recommended a thorough cleaning of all elevations and implementation of engineering controls for dust mitigation.