The fifth of a free six-part Safety Foundation Webinar Series presented by the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) safety committee is available now. The series is being produced in co-operation with WorkSafeBC, the University of British Columbia Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group, BioMass Canada, and media partner Canadian Biomass magazine.

The latest webinar is the first of a two-part series on the safe handling and storage of biomass. It will discuss safety issues related to wood pellets such as off-gassing, self-heating and silo fires, while Part 2 looks at combustible dust and combustible gas.

Presenter Fahimeh Yazdan Panah, director of research and technical development at WPAC, says wood pellets emit gases when they are stored, and this can lead to dangerous occurrences such as oxygen depletion or spontaneous combustion. “It does not take much to have an impact so it is extremely important to have proper ventilation, and to watch for anything that could signal a smoldering fire, such as a noticeable odor, abnormal temperature readings or unusual amounts of condensation.”

Each of the webinars is about an hour long and followed by a quiz. Participants who successfully complete the quiz earn a certificate, and those who pass all six quizzes receive a Safety Foundation Course certificate.

Register HERE for the latest webinar. The first four sessions can be viewed at https://www.pellet.org/safety-foundation-course/, and the last one will be posted when it is released. The first two webinars discussed bow tie analysis and the second two focused on human-machine interface.

The webinars provide valuable information about process safety to everyone involved in the pellet industry, including operating personnel at all levels of a pellet plant, supervisors, senior management, control operators, other industry participants, equipment suppliers, and safety professionals.