During a recent Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA)
walkthrough, our consultants were on the
scene of a major cheese and dairy producer
whose sites here in the United States consist
of liquid milk products processing, spray
drying of powdered milk products, and
production of cheese products.
The plant in question has been in operation
for almost 15 years without a major explosion.
However major fires have occurred at this
facility in both the spray drying area and the
lactose milling systems. Each of these fires have resulted in major interruption to production, firefighter emergency response, and evacuation of staff during the incident. No one was hurt in either of the two major fires. Site management is embarking on the first steps of their combustible dust journey in completing this dust hazard analysis.