-300x300.jpg&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Author: Veress Árpád · Explosion-protection expertDAILY Ex - 10 NOVEMBER 2026
TODAY'S FOCUS: When maintenance becomes the initiating event. A catastrophic steelworks explosion in Türkiye, new research challenging assumptions about metal-dust explosibility, and lessons from industrial safety investigations lead today's edition. We also examine the relationship between equipment certification, contractor competence and the protection of complete machinery. For Heads of Operations: A safe production process can become dangerous when maintenance introduces conditions that were never considered in the original risk assessment.
⚡ DAILY Ex | 10 NOVEMBER 2026
Explosion Protection | Operational Ex | Global Watch
TODAY'S FOCUS: When maintenance becomes the initiating event.
A catastrophic steelworks explosion in Türkiye, new research challenging assumptions about metal-dust explosibility, and lessons from industrial safety investigations lead today's edition.
We also examine the relationship between equipment certification, contractor competence and the protection of complete machinery.
For Heads of Operations: A safe production process can become dangerous when maintenance introduces conditions that were never considered in the original risk assessment.
🔴 1. TÜRKİYE | Catastrophic steelworks explosion kills at least 16
BREAKING INCIDENT - 9 November 2026
A major explosion and fire occurred at the HABAŞ iron and steel plant in Aliağa, İzmir.
Reuters reported 16 fatalities, while subsequent reporting put the death toll at 17, with 13 injured.
According to preliminary information from regional authorities, an overhead crane collapsed into an electric arc furnace during liquid-steel casting operations.
The incident occurred while equipment replacement work was underway.
The exact initiating sequence and responsibility remain under investigation.
Why it matters operationally: Maintenance and lifting operations near active high-energy processes can create catastrophic interactions between mechanical equipment, molten materials and process systems.
This is not a confirmed explosive-atmosphere incident.
Management action: Review simultaneous operations, lifting plans, exclusion zones, equipment isolation and the authorization of maintenance near operating furnaces.
https://www.reuters.com/world/steel-plant-blast-kills-3-leaves-10-missing-western-turkey-2026-11-09/
🔬 2. GLOBAL | Metal-dust explosion data may not represent actual processes
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT - Published 15 July 2026
A paper in Chemical Engineering Transactions, titled Industrial Experience and Open Issues in Explosion Protection for Metal and Light Metal Powders, examines limitations in commonly used explosion-severity data.
The researchers highlight significant variability in aluminium-dust explosion parameters, including maximum explosion pressure and KSt.
They warn that database values may not adequately represent actual industrial conditions.
Particle characteristics, material properties and process conditions can influence the results.
Why it matters operationally: Explosion venting, suppression and isolation systems depend on representative explosion characteristics.
Engineering lesson: Do not assume that generic aluminium-dust data adequately represents the powder currently processed.
https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/CET26126035
⚖️ 3. EU | Mechanical machinery and explosion protection
REGULATORY PRACTICE
ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU covers qualifying electrical and non-electrical equipment, protective systems and certain components intended for potentially explosive atmospheres.
For mechanical machinery, relevant ignition sources may include friction, impact, hot surfaces, mechanical sparks and electrostatic discharges.
EN ISO 80079-36 and EN ISO 80079-37 provide important technical frameworks for assessing non-electrical explosion protection.
Why it matters operationally: A certified electrical motor does not establish the explosion-protection suitability of the complete machine.
Management action: Verify that procurement specifications address the entire mechanical assembly, including bearings, seals, couplings, transmissions and foreseeable malfunctions.
📘 4. IECEx | Contractor competence must match the actual work
CERTIFICATION AND COMPETENCE PRACTICE
The IECEx provides certification schemes addressing Ex equipment, personnel competence and service facilities.
These schemes serve different purposes.
An equipment certificate establishes conformity within its specified scope.
Personnel competence certification addresses defined activities and units of competence.
Service-facility certification addresses specified service activities and associated management arrangements.
Why it matters operationally: Employing a certified contractor does not automatically establish that every activity undertaken is covered by that certification.
Management action: Before work begins, verify personnel competence, contractor scope, applicable procedures and the technical basis for accepting completed work.
🔬 5. RESEARCH | Data analytics identifies recurring dust-explosion weaknesses
RESEARCH FINDING - Published March 2026
Researchers published Data-driven Safety Analytics for Dust Explosion Prevention in Digital Chemical Engineering.
The study applied natural-language processing and other analytical techniques to industrial incident reports.
It identified recurring safety drivers involving process-safety management, inherently safer design, ignition-source control and safeguard effectiveness.
The approach aims to support proactive identification of weaknesses rather than relying exclusively on historical incident frequencies.
Why it matters operationally: Incident databases can reveal recurring organizational and engineering weaknesses that may not be obvious from individual accident reports.
Management action: Review near misses and maintenance defects collectively to identify recurring failures of protective barriers.
📘 6. UK | Dust exposure enforcement reveals persistent housekeeping problems
HISTORICAL ENFORCEMENT LEARNING - 20 July 2026
The Health and Safety Executive reported that food manufacturer Puratos Limited was fined £120,000 following failures involving workers' exposure to dusty ingredients and manual-handling risks.
The regulator had previously taken enforcement action at the facility in 2021.
The 2026 enforcement concerned occupational exposure and manual handling, not a confirmed combustible-dust explosion.
Why it matters operationally: Persistent dust-management deficiencies may indicate weaknesses in maintenance, cleaning arrangements and operational supervision.
Engineering lesson: Occupational dust exposure and combustible-dust explosion hazards require separate assessments, even where some preventive measures overlap.
📅 7. UK | Hazards 36: Process safety and emerging technologies
UPCOMING EVENT - 17–19 November 2026
Hazards 36 takes place next week in Manchester.
Organised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the conference addresses major-hazard management, operational safety, emerging technologies and lessons from industrial accidents.
The programme includes discussions on barrier assurance, battery energy storage, hydrogen, ammonia and digitalization.
Why it matters operationally: Explosion protection must evolve alongside changing industrial technologies and operating practices.
https://www.icheme.org/training-events/hazards-process-safety-conference/
▶️ OPERATIONAL Ex USE CASE
THE DUST COLLECTOR - WHEN FILTER CLEANING BECOMES AN Ex HAZARD
PRACTICAL | Illustrative scenario
A manufacturing facility operates a central dust collector serving several powder-processing machines.
The collector has explosion venting and an inlet explosion-isolation system.
During routine maintenance, operators notice increasing differential pressure across the filter cartridges.
To restore airflow, maintenance increases the compressed-air pulse-cleaning pressure.
The collector's performance improves.
Production continues.
But has the explosion-protection assessment considered the modified cleaning conditions?
Pulse cleaning can disperse deposited combustible dust, creating transient dust clouds inside the collector.
Increasing pulse pressure may alter dust dispersion, cartridge loading and mechanical stresses.
If the modification exceeds the manufacturer's approved operating limits, it may also affect filter integrity.
Damaged filter cartridges can allow combustible dust to enter the clean-air chamber and downstream ductwork.
This may create additional explosion-propagation pathways.
Required decision: Engineering must verify that the modified cleaning arrangement remains within the manufacturer's operating limits and the explosion-protection design assumptions.
The review should include dust characteristics, pulse pressure, cartridge integrity, explosion isolation, venting and foreseeable abnormal conditions.
Owner: Maintenance Manager, supported by Process Engineering and the Ex Responsible Person.
Required evidence: Manufacturer's cleaning specifications, maintenance records, filter-condition assessment, explosion-protection documentation and return-to-service authorization.
STOP criterion: Do not continue operation outside validated cleaning conditions or with damaged filter elements where explosion safety cannot be demonstrated.
Measure: 100% of safety-relevant dust-collector cleaning modifications reviewed before implementation.
▶️ TODAY'S CRITICAL Ex QUESTION
A dust collector is protected by explosion venting and inlet isolation. Maintenance increases pulse-cleaning pressure to restore airflow. What is the critical Ex consideration?
A. No reassessment is required because explosion venting is installed.
B. Increased pulse pressure is acceptable if differential pressure decreases.
C. The modified cleaning conditions must be assessed for dust dispersion, filter integrity and the continued effectiveness of explosion protection.
D. Only the compressed-air system pressure rating needs verification.
Correct answer: C.
Explosion venting and isolation do not eliminate the need to assess changes that affect combustible-dust dispersion, equipment integrity or explosion-propagation pathways.
⚡ DAILY Ex | CLOSING THOUGHT
Today's developments highlight a critical weakness in industrial risk management.
Maintenance is often treated as an activity that restores safety. But maintenance can also introduce new hazards.
A lifting operation can interact with an active high-energy process.
A replacement component can change the mechanical ignition risk.
A cleaning adjustment can alter combustible-dust dispersion.
A contractor can complete a technically functional repair without demonstrating that explosion-protection integrity has been preserved.
For Heads of Operations, the essential question is:
Does the equipment remain within its assessed and protected operating conditions after maintenance?
A successful maintenance intervention is not simply one that restores production.
It is one that restores production without compromising the protective arrangements on which safe operation depends.
That is Operational Ex.