Study of wood dust explosion risk in micro-scale furniture manufacturing enterprises

During the processing of raw materials, by-products are generated as a result of the employed technique. Dust is one of them. It is a common issue in the furniture manufacturing sector. In addition, the majority of the enterprises in the sector are micro-scale enterprises. These enterprises are important for the country's economy in economic and social aspects, but these enterprises have some negativities in terms of occupational health and safety. One of these negativities is the inadequacy of the management of wood dust. Wood dust emitted into the work atmosphere poses a risk to both employee health and workplace safety. Dust can cause "dust explosions" when combined with other factors in the work environment. Dust explosions usually occur in production areas, during the process, the storage phase or the transfer of materials. It can be said that the level of awareness of dust explosion risk is not high in our country. Therefore, this study aims to determine dust explosion risks in micro-scale enterprises operating in the province of Trabzon and manufacturing furniture. As a method, L Type (5x5) matrix diagram method was used. Three furniture enterprises in the furniture sector were selected as material and visited; and examined in terms of factors that may cause wood dust formation and dust explosion. A total of 64 risk elements were determined. 30 of them were evaluated as "high risk," 28 as "medium risk" and 6 as "low risk". Suggestions were made depending on the risks identified.