ForesterBlog.com
It is really unfortunate to see another BC sawmill explosion just months from a previous one. In the latest Prince George incident, two workers died and over 20 were injured.
The problem seems to be narrowing down to a build up of sawdust from dead pine trees. After pine are killed by mountain pine beetle, the stems are left standing in the woods and begin to lose their moisture content. By the time the stems arrive at mills (possibly years later), the wood can be tinder dry. I've heard a few people comment on other 'close calls' where timber has caught on fire during the work progress.
When the timber is cut at the mill, sawdust particles are released into the air. With large volumes of timber cut on a daily basis, this dust can add up as it settles throughout the workplace. If nothing is done, this can become a fire and explosion hazard as we now know.
Awareness is now very high on this problem, and I heard on the radio that WorkSafe BC plans to do more mill inspections in BC to check for this very issue.
One of the articles on the sawmill explosion is linked to below. The end of the article has information for donating to fund for the victims of the explosion.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/pine+beetle+sawdust+cause+Prince+George+sawmill+explosion/6531990/story.html
--------
No comments:
Post a Comment