Fire in the hole! The biomass industry needs to develop and adhere to best practices for fire prevention. uncovered three reports of wood dust- related fires in that month alone. A Mas- sachusetts pellet plant had a wood dust fire—its sec- ond since January; a Penn- sylvania cabinetmaker had a sawdust explosion—its fourth fire in seven years; and a Maine paper plant had a bark and wood dust fire—its third fire since De- cember 2009. According to a presentation by Aon Reed Stenhouse, an insur- ance broker and risk man- agement firm, 77 wood-re- lated dust explosions and fires were reported in the news between 2003 and the start of 2010. That’s almost one per month. And those are only the ones that made the news. Are the major- ity of these incidents due to willful negli- gence, or is it inexperience and a lack of recommendations and best practices on the part of the biomass industry? It’s not just wood pellet plants that are T going up in flames. Hog piles burn, dust from pulp chips burns or explodes, equip- ment produces shorts or sparks that ignite sawdust, and dust from pellets explodes during large bulk handling. In addition to potential employee injury and fatality, these incidents destroy property and in- ventory and result in downtime that affects the company’s bottom line. The numerous explosions and fires are also making it in- creasingly difficult for biomass facilities to get reasonable, if any, insurance coverage. A case in point is the Canadian wood pellet industry. Our wood pellet produc- ers are starting to feel the repercussions of fires and explosions across North America, 4 CanadianBIOMASS he North American biomass indus- try is exploding. Literally. For April 2010, a quick search of the Internet with insurance premiums escalating, insur- ers becoming reluctant to include wood pellet plants in their portfolios, and refusal of insurance for at least one Canadian pel- let plant. All pellet plants are being lumped together as high risk, re- gardless of investments in fire prevention, and all are suffering for problems ex- perienced by a few plants. This has prompted a response from the Wood Pellet Association of Can- ada (WPAC). At its March meeting in Ottawa, it reported its attempts to work with insurers in developing best practices that would allow produc- ers to control risk to lev- els that would satisfy insurance providers. Best practices include: housekeeping stan- dards to minimize dust build-up; function- ing fire safety and prevention measures/ systems; self-inspection programs and record keeping; preventive maintenance programs; third-party auditing and certi- fication of fire/explosion risk management systems; and industry-wide monitoring, evaluation, and annual program revision. To be effective, such a program would require all pellet industry members to par- ticipate. It might involve different premi- ums for different levels of risk mitigation. Others in the wood products industry are not immune to these issues. WPAC is taking steps to improve fire safety and insurance matters for its members. The rest of the biomass industry should lend support in developing and implementing effective best practices or risk being left behind in the dust.• Heather Hager, Editor [email protected] BIOMASS CANADIAN - Heather Hager (519) 429-3966 ext 261 [email protected] - Scott Jamieson (519) 429-3966 ext 244 [email protected] - Gordon Murray, Reg Renner, Mark Ryans, Evelyne Thiffault, Bill Tice, Stefanie Wallace Josée Crevier (514) 457-2211 ext 21 [email protected] Tim Tolton - [email protected] 514-237-6614 Guy Fortin - [email protected] 90 Morgan Rd, Unit 14 Baie d’Urfé, Que H9X 3A8 Ph: (514) 457-2211 Fax: (514) 457-2558 Tim Shaddick - [email protected] 1660 West 75th Ave Vancouver, B.C. V6P 6G2 Ph: (604) 264-1158 Fax: (604) 264-1367 - Emily Sun Canadian Biomass is published six times a year: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Published and printed by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 0318-4277 e-mail: [email protected] Tel: (514) 457-2211 Fax: (514) 457-2558 Mail: 90 Morgan Rd, Unit 14 Baie d’Urfé, Que H9X 3A8 Canada - 1 Yr $48; 2 Yr $85; 3 Yr $115 Single Copy - $9.00 (Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes) USA – 1 Yr $44 US; 2 Yr $75 US Foreign – 1 Yr $75 US Occasionally, Canadian Biomass magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission ©2010 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. 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Canadian Biomass May/June 2010: Page 4
