Bulk storage and the handling of commodities carry significant fire and explosion risks, and losses can escalate quickly. Neale Consulting carries out dust explosion investigations and bulk materials fire investigations across every stage of storage and handling.
We analyse both the materials and the conditions in which they were stored or processed, to determine ignition sources, system performance, and liability.
Any combustible material can burn rapidly when it is finely divided, and when it is suspended in air, it can become explosible. That is why a combustible dust explosion can follow from an ordinary process in a mill, silo, or processing plant, and why it needs a careful, evidence-based investigation.
What We Investigate
Our dust and bulk materials investigations cover:
- Dust Explosions: grain dust explosions, sugar dust explosions, and other combustible dust explosions.
- Dust & Bulk Material Fires: including fires in stockpiles, silos, and conveyors.
- Self-Heating & Spontaneous Ignition: in stored materials.
- Releases of Combustible Gases: from stored or processed materials.
What We Determine
Our investigations include the full scope of the fire or explosion event, and seek to determine:
- The Fuel: the material involved, and how it came to be dispersed or accumulated.
- The Ignition Source: what set it off, and how it reached the dust.
- How the Event Escalated: why a fire or a primary explosion became a larger loss.
- System Performance: housekeeping, dust control, ventilation, explosion protection, and fire protection.
- Compliance & Management: how the site’s practices compared with relevant standards such as NFPA 660 and OSHA guidance.
- Responsibility: who or what contributed, so that liability is fairly allocated.
Facilities and Materials
Dust and bulk material explosions and fires can occur in a variety of settings and amongst myriad materials. We are adept at investigating all such settings and materials, including:
- Storage & Handling Facilities: grain elevators, mills, silos, stockpiles, conveyors, warehouses, and storage tanks.
- Materials: grains and oilseeds, sugar and food powders, coffee and cocoa, biomass and wood pellets, coal and coke, charcoal, metal powders, fertilisers, plastics, and natural fibres.
This includes grain elevator explosion investigations for insurers, owners, and operators.
Who We Help
Neale Consulting is regularly called upon to provide investigation and expert witness support to insurers, subrogation teams, legal professionals, plant owners and operators alike.
Need help?
Then Neale Consulting is only a phone call or email away. Contact us as early as possible to give your investigation the best possible chances of success.
How can we help you?
