Safety Standards for Spray Booths STORY TIME... Fire # 1 A business direct quotes from this section: The two lists above are certainly good places to start. The NFPA and OSHAare concerned about safety; you and I need to be concerned also. The quality of the final finish, however, is not their concern . A good finish requires a clean area and higher air velocities than the minimums for safety. The velocities used in spray booths today are well above the minimums for firesafety. I Leading Cause of Fires in Electros tati c Spray Operations 1. Ungrounded or improperly grounded objects in the spray area 2. Failure to fully discharge equipment before cleaning 3. Pinholes leaks in the paint tub- ing to the spray gun 4. Other causes similar to con- ventional systems, such as smok- ing and cutting and welding Leading Causes of Fire in Conventional Systems (Air Spray, HVLP, Airl ess,...) 1. Use of a spark-producing equip- ment such as cutting, welding,and grinding near the spray area. 2. Friction in most cases by over- heated bearings on the exhaust fan or by rubbing of exhaust fan blades against the overspray deposits on the wall of the duct. 3. Arcing electrical equipment 4. Spontaneous combustion 5. Discharge of static electricity Following are dards are subject to interpretation. Also remember that the local author- ity having jurisdiction may require further prevention methods. You need to know these codes to under- stand these interpretations, and to argue your points, if necessary. Safety is paramount to human involvement in any dangerous activi- ty. In the finishing industry, we deal with areas in factories that spray flammable coatings and produce explosive environments. These are atomized liquids or solvents, high concentrations of powders, or dusts. Should a source of ignition be intro- duced to this atmosphere, the poten- tial for fire is very high. The governing safety codes and standards are the the International Fire Code (IFC) and NFPA 33 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials. These documents refer to other codes and standards such as the International Building Code (IBC) , NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and the National Electric Code (NEC). In this article we will review informa- tion that is in NFPA 33. To help users understand the reasons for the standard, NFPA 33 contains annex material (see NFPA 33 Annex D 'Fire Record). W hen I was first asked to write an article on "Safety Standards for Spray Booths," I thought it was because someone had seen the presentations at the coat- ings shows and thought they had discovered a cure for insomnia. I checked with the American Medical Association and was informed that boring articles had been putting people to sleep since the written word originated. If you have experienced a factory fire, or any disastrous fire, you might not find this so boring but slightly informative. The goal of this article is not to go down the list of requirements in the standards. If you are involved in the finishing industry, you should be informed of the correct standards. These should not be seen as a restric- tion on your ability to produce, or a way to take your hard-earned profits for some arbitrary rules. These standards have been written in response to events that have hap- pened , and to prevent other similar events that we know could occur. As you know, stan- Ie Ing BY MARTY POWELL, TERRITORY MANAGER, GLOBAL FINISHING SOLUTIONS, CARROLLTON, TEXAS o 181 metalfinishing 1September2010 www.metalfinishing.com
Transcript
Safety Standards for Spray Booths
STORYTIME...Fire # 1A business
direct quotes from this section:
The two lists above are certainlygood places to start. The NFPA andOSHAare concerned about safety;youand I need to be concerned also. Thequality of the final finish, however, isnot their concern . A good finishrequires a clean areaand higher air
velocities thanthe minimumsfor safety. Thevelocities used in spraybooths today are wellabove the minimums for
fire safety.I
Leading Cause of Fi res inElectrostati c Spray Operations
1. Ungrounded or improperlygrounded objects in the spray area2. Failure to fully dischargeequipment before cleaning3. Pinholes leaks in the paint tubing to the spray gun4. Other causes similar to conventional systems, such as smoking and cutting and welding
Leading Causes ofFire inConventional Systems (Air Spray,HVLP, Airl ess,...)
1. Useofa spark-producing equipment such as cutting, welding,andgrinding near the spray area.2. Friction in most cases by overheated bearings on the exhaustfan or by rubbing of exhaust fanblades against the overspraydeposits on the wall of the duct.3. Arcing electrical equipment4. Spontaneous combustion5. Discharge of static electricity
Following are
dards are subject to interpretation.Also remember that the local authority having jurisdiction may requirefurther prevention methods. Youneed to know these codes to understand these interpretations, and to
argue your points, if necessary.Safety is paramount to human
involvement in any dangerous activity. In the finishing industry, we dealwith areas in factories that sprayflammable coatings and produceexplosive environments. These areatomized liquids or solvents, highconcentrations of powders, or dusts.Should a source of ignition be introduced to this atmosphere, the potential for fire is very high.
The governing safety codes andstandards are the the InternationalFire Code (IFC) and NFPA 33Standard for Spray Application UsingFlammable or CombustibleMaterials. These documents refer to
other codes and standards such as theInternational Building Code (IBC),
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and theNational Electric Code (NEC). Inthis article we will review information that is in NFPA33.
To help users understand thereasons for the standard, NFPA33 contains annex material (see
NFPA 33 Annex D 'FireRecord).
W hen I was first asked to writean article on "Safety
Standards for Spray Booths," Ithought it was because someone hadseen the presentations at the coatings shows and thought they haddiscovered a cure for insomnia. Ichecked with the American MedicalAssociation and was informed thatboring articles had been puttingpeople to sleep since the writtenword originated.
If you have experienced a factoryfire, or any disastrous fire, you mightnot find this so boring but slightlyinformative.
The goal of this article is not to godown the list of requirements in thestandards. If you are involved in thefinishing industry, you should beinformed of the correct standards.These should not be seen as a restriction on your ability to produce, or away to take your hard-earnedprofits for some arbitraryrules.
These standards havebeen written in response toevents that have happened , and to preventother similarevents that weknow couldoccur. As youknow, stan-
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BY MARTY POWELL, TERRITORY MANAGER, GLOBAL FINISHING SOLUTIONS,CARROLLTON, TEXAS
Fire # 2There is so much overspray insidethe duct as to star t and suppo rt afire. Come on. We shouldn't evenhave to talk about this on e. Changeyour filters, clean your system. Thison e comes up all the time, came upduring th e writing of the article. Itwas cheap er to replace fan and ductthan to clean it. You can't use explo sives to clean th e duct ; rem emb er # 1:explosions produce sparks.
ciate was fixing a booth that had onlybeen test sprayed in, but not production painting. The fire watch guyshowed up with water bucke ts and fireextinguishers.
"Yeah, Yeah great! Jus t stan d overth ere. No big deal." Ten minuteslat er they had used everything available to put out the fire, plus runningto get more. Things were scorc hed.But all was OK. It was interesting tohear his sto ry because he was wavinghis arms and very excited. He didn'thave fun that day, and today, helooks at fire safety differently.
Fire # 3A painter smoking a cigarette andflushing solvent, from an electro staticgun in to an ungrounded trash container. Boom! Painter only lost thehair on his arm and only almost setthe buildin g on fire . The flamesreached to th e truss at 40 ft. in th e air.
Today I can only hope he is not rexting , smoking, flush ing solvent, etc...You know, text ing will get you introuble these days.
[I was asked by Metal Finishing'sorgani c coatings edito r to clarify th ison e, as I was trying to keep this entertaining I left out some detail s andstandards.] First, you don't flu sh solvent into the trash container (even ifitwas grounded, this was funny), yeseven though the paper, cardboard,and wood help soak up th e solvents.Yes, that's what they told me that day.
Reality, By the Standard-Flushonly into the proper containers fordisposing of solvents and keep allitems properly grounded. (The other
BIOMarty Powell is territory manager forGlobal Finishing Solutions, Carrollton)Texas. A 28-year veteran of the industry)Powell has extensive knowledge of spraybooth design, finishing systems) and airhandling systems. He earned a BachelorsDegreeinBusinessAdministration, withaminor in International Management; aswell as a Bachelors Degree in Marketingfrom Northwood University) Midland)Mich. Powell has also held positions inorganizations such as the ChemicalCoaters Association International) ThePowder Coating Institute) and the SocietyofManufacturing Engineers.
REFERENCES1. A good review of this was provid
ed in Metal Finishing, February2010 , pp 38-39.
Gu ess what happens when youdon't do th ese things. Covering upthe UV Spark detector isn 't really agood idea.
I am going to keep you in suspense.Read NFPA 0 .1.3.1 and 0 .1.3.2.These sections have the words ;Ignit ion, Fir eball, Burning, andSubstantial Damage.
So understand safety, the cor rectstandards, and the correct procedures, too. Understand the reasonswhy these fires occur.
As stated earl ier, standards are subject to interpretation. Also rememberthat the local authority having jurisdictio n may require further prevention methods. How strict the y aremay dep end on your past safetyrecord-and your safety record willalso impact your insurance costs.
Visi t the webs ites for theInternational Code Council(www.iccsafe.org) and the NationalFire Protecti on Assoc iation(www.nfpa.org) for more information and access to the standards an dcodes. Follow the safety list on theequipment you have purchased, trainyour personnel properly, and don'tlet down your guard. Safe finishing!
shut off, burning stops• Losses resulting in greater damage
have occurred when the powdersupply was not immediately shutoff
Fire # 5And last but not least...The installerof th e new sprinkler system droppeda hot bit of metal from the dr ill bitinto the lacqu er dust in the dirty,dir ty booth. What an exciting day.Those Fir em en really earn theirmoney, and our respect. They weregood, too. They could not save th efinishing shop, but th ey saved therest of the building.
Those fire trucks have a nice paintjob! They are our customer. Verysafety conscious. This fire could havebeen avoided by keep ing the areadean or by at least cleaning beforework started. I stress these. Lets dothe math. Flammable materials inth e air (explosive) + dirty build-up(fuel and impairment to fire extinguishers) + a spark (source if ignition ) = Fire.
The above sto ries are tr ue. No onewas hurt. That is the onl y reason wecan chuckle a little. But two of thoselosses were over $1 million each.
Powder coating is typically a saferope ration. (Please read below.)
N FPA 330.1.3Powder Coating• Loss experience indicates thatwhere provisions of thisstandardwerefollowed the typicalfire of apowder system was confined tothe powder spray pattern of theguns when the powder supplies
Fire#4The next painter involved with solvent , spray guns, and cleaning technique didburn down th e facto ry. Thegun was covered in solvent, flushedand atomized into the booth , and totop it off, with th e power on . That's#2 in Electrostatic Systems causes .Nothing funny here, it took eightyears for this on e to work its waythrough the court system. The electrostatic paint gun manufacturer wasfound not guilty. No one was hurt,but millions of dollars were lost.
funny part was texting will get you introuble. What the funny part was,was text ing is nothing compared toburning down th e factor y. Oh well,let's move on.)
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www.metalfinishing.com September 2010Imetalflnlshlngl 19
