ESS expands its Educational Services

Business as usual may seem an outdated concept after the past few years, but for chemical production, distribution, manufacturing, and other essential industries, it’s just as relevant now as it’s always been.

Despite the many difficulties caused by the pandemic and supply chain issues, distributors have needed to continue to operate safely and effectively. To do that, they’ve had to make sure they comply with the latest rules and regulations, and provide the right training to their employees.

For over two decades, Environment & Safety Solutions, Inc. has helped our clients stay on top of occupational safety and the ever-changing environmental laws, regulations, and requirements by making sense of even the most complex of issues.

We’ve been seeing increased demand for our training and educational programs, so we’re now expanding those services.

Companies often have gaps in their training – we’re here to help fill them.

As we look to develop and expand our offerings, we’re pleased to announce the addition of Jessica Carr to our team as Manager – Educational Services.

Working closely alongside ESS President Peter Downing and Vice President Rachelle Alexander, Jessica’s role will include preparing and coordinating webinars and workshops, as well as managing speeches and presentations delivered at trade events. She will be responsible for developing the portfolio and growing our online training sessions.

Having worked for over a decade as a high school teacher in Rahway, NJ, teaching environmental science and biology, she will be introducing some of the tools and techniques used in the classroom to our training courses.

“This is an exciting new challenge for me and I’ve already seen the many parallels between the classroom and the environment, health, and safety services that ESS offers its clients,” she says.

“I want to make our training even more engaging and interactive by introducing some of the tools and technologies I’ve been using these last few years in education, particularly with remote learning during the pandemic. Our aim at ESS is to make even the most complex of subjects easier to understand.”

Remote learning has become increasingly popular, and at times necessary, these past few years and the development of our virtual offerings will draw on Jessica’s expertise to ensure we provide the same high-quality training you’d expect, whether you’re working with us in-person or from behind a screen.

“We recognize how our clients’ needs are changing and we want to provide the same level of training, wherever they are,” adds Carr.

All our sessions are tailored to your specific needs and requirements with in-house and virtual training courses covering topics such as Hazardous Communication, Emergency Planning, Fire Safety, Forklift, Waste Management, Personal Protective Equipment, Respiratory Protection, and many, many more.

Navigating ever-changing health and safety legislation can be challenging for even the most established chemical businesses. Whether you need help with audits and inspections or to meet the requirements of OSHA and other agencies, ESS is here to support you.

To find out more about our training courses and how we can help your business, get in touch for more information by visiting our website or contact Jessica directly at 609-371-8888.

Combustible Dust Hazards Analysis

Effective September 7, 2020, all companies that handle combustible dust must have a completed dust hazard analysis in accordance with NFPA 652. Many facilities are still unclear about this requirement, so let’s look at the requirements of NFPA 652 and a few simple tactics to help your company with compliance.

A dust hazard analysis (“DHA”) is defined as “a systematic review to identify and evaluate the potential fire, flash fire, or explosion hazards associated with the presence of one or more combustible particulate solids in a process or facility.” (NFPA 652, The Fundamentals of Combustible Dust, 2019)[emphasis added] The operative word in this definition is “systematic”. A facility must undertake a careful evaluation to first determine if it has combustible particulate solids, including but not limited to dusts, by determining the combustibility of the material. This can be done in many ways, including use of historical facility data, published data representative of your site’s process conditions and materials, or analysis of representative samples. Absence of prior fires or explosions is simply not enough to justify a non-combustible determination. Be sure to maintain documentation of this information.

In the event that analysis of your materials is necessary, one should follow the procedures from the standard to determine combustibility and explosibility of the materials using appropriate screening tests. Where the material is handled and there are changes in size or configuration of the material, be sure to collect various samples, including samples of different steps in the process if needed. The Standard provides a simple flow chart to assist in the determination of combustibility/explosibility, and to help you understand what to do with that information.

A dust hazards analysis is a critical step in determining the risk to a facility. An evaluation of fire, deflagration, and explosion hazards must be undertaken by a “qualified” person. Be careful in selecting an individual or firm to address these matters. Not only should this individual be qualified from an academic standpoint, but he or she should also be qualified from a practical or experiential standpoint. It is important that the individual selected have a demonstrated ability to address “the problems related to the subject matter” (NFPA 652, 2019). Hiring an inexperienced person to assist you with your dust hazards analysis can have life-threatening consequences. A comprehensive DHA includes a review of process conditions, process systems, and building or building compartments. Once completed, the DHA and associated elements will be used as the basis for compliance with the applicable NFPA dust standard, and will be used to develop a mitigation plan to manage the hazard. NFPA 652 is used to provide the fundamentals, but those who work with specific products such as metals, grains, wood or sulfur will be led to the respective standard for more detailed information. If not one of the listed hazards, then the user should refer to NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids.

Regardless of the material processed, management of combustible dusts is a unique situation, requiring specialized expertise and knowledge, as well as a keen insight into processes and process controls. It is not a theoretical practice, but rather one that challenges the best minds. For more information about the management of combustible dusts or the completion of a Dust Hazards Analysis, contact Peter Downing at pdowning@environmentsafety.com. Also, stay tuned for our webinar focused solely on conducting a Dust Hazards Analysis.

Peter Downing, CHMM, is a member of the Technical Committee on Combustible Metals and Metal Dusts, NFPA 484, since 2009. Pete is a degreed chemist who has worked extensively with combustible materials, including metals and metal dusts. Pete has served as a “qualified person”, taking the lead on numerous dust hazards analyses and working cooperatively with his industrial clients.