Case Studies » Euphorium Bakery
The challenge
A visit was made to Euphorium Bakery Limited premises at Weybridge, in August 2015 to consider compliance in respect of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR).
Site management had been made aware of the importance to confirm compliance with DSEAR particularly in respect to storage and handling of flour based materials. Bakery facilities included product dispensing, mixing, conveying and oven equipment with flour transferred from external silos. Processes carried out thus involved combustible powder transfers.
The solution provided
The activity of the site is to produce a variety of fresh bakery products for Tesco’s; the site operates 24/7. The site has 3 silos; of which can hold up to 44 tonnes per silo. Fine flour dust is combustible & may add to fire and explosion hazard within confined plant particularly. However not all dusts are equally explosive and severity depends on dust type; concentration, moisture content and enclosure strength. Generally, the larger a dust cloud, the more widespread its explosion effects, and it is important to ensure that housekeeping is effective in limiting hazardous dust accumulations in the workplace.
Flammable range varies according to specific dust properties but typically airborne concentrations greater than 50g/m3 are difficult to see through and should act as a warning to persons at risk - albeit exact LEL is not easy to determine for many dusts without expensive tests. Survey evidence of the cleaning regime identified that this level of dust is unlikely to be exceeded in the plant.
A full survey of all processes and storage areas was undertaken and DSEAR risk assessment completed. Management were advised on areas where improvement actions were necessary and clear guidance was provided on hazardous are classification requirments.
