West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 56 - Miners' Health, Safety And Training › Title 56 - LEGISLATIVE RULE OFFICE OF MINERS' HEALTH, SAFETY AND TRAINING › Series 56-03 - Safety Of Those Employed In And Around Surface Mines In WV › Section 56-3-49 - Thermal Coal Dryers and Plants

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
49.1. Thermal
				coal dryer plants shall be hereafter constructed, maintained and operated
				incompliance with the following provisions.
49.1.1. Good housekeeping shall be practiced
				in and around thermal dryer plants.
49.1.2. Adequate fire-fighting facilities
				shall be provided on all floors.
49.1.3. When welding and cutting operations
				are to be performed in a dryer structure, the area shall be wetted down
				thoroughly and adequate fire-fighting apparatus shall be readily available
				during the operation.
49.1.4. Only
				qualified persons shall be permitted to operate dryers; however, this provision
				shall not prohibit qualified persons from training other persons to become
				qualified operators.
49.1.5. Dryer
				control panels shall be provided with audible and visible alarm devices; such
				devices should be adjusted to function at somewhat less than maximum dryer
				temperature.
49.1.6. A bypass or
				relief stack equipped with an automatically operated damper shall be provided
				for by passing gases from the heating units to the outside atmosphere during
				emergency or normal shutdown operations.
49.1.7. Thermal coal dryers hereafter
				installed shall not be enclosed except that roof may be used. Whenever it is
				deemed necessary to enclose thermal dryers, such equipment shall be in a fire
				proof structure.
49.1.8. Dryer
				installations and discharge stacks shall be protected with adequate explosion
				release vents that open to the outside atmosphere.
49.1.9. Thermal coal dryers shall be located
				at a safe distance from tipples, cleaning plants, mine openings and surface
				buildings, such as oil storage areas, explosive magazines, and other buildings
				where coal dust, sparks and flames are likely to enter and become ignited or
				otherwise cause danger of fires.
49.1.10. Dryers shall be equipped with
				quick-response heat control devices which in the event of super elevated
				temperatures, will automatically divert the hot inlet gases into a bypass
				stack, thereby bypassing the drying chamber and at the same time stopping the
				fuel from being supplied to the air heater.
49.1.11. All dryers, conveyors and other fine
				coal transporting machines shall be constructed as dust-tight as practicable.
				Where necessary, such equipment shall be provided with removable covers for
				inspection and cleaning and shall be provided with vent pipes to the outside
				atmosphere to permit the escape of distilled gases.
49.1.12. Dryers shall be examined thoroughly
				after normal and emergency shutdown for fires and coal dust
				accumulations.
49.1.13. Dryer
				controls, valves, and mechanical equipment shall be frequently inspected, and
				no dryer shall be operated with defective mechanical equipment.
49.1.14. The gauges of temperature control
				instruments shall be of the recording type.
49.1.15. Operating rules suitable for the
				characteristics of each dryer system and the materials processed shall be
				developed and shall be available at the control panel.
49.1.16. Electrical equipment, electrical
				wiring and lighting fixtures shall be of dust-tight construction.
49.1.17. Adequate illumination shall be
				provided.
49.1.18. Dryers shall not
				be operated beyond their rated evaporation capacity.
49.1.19. Fluid bed dryers shall be provided
				with water sprays of sufficient capacity for use in event of fire.
49.1.20. After shutdown, thermal dryers shall
				be cleared of hot coals so as to minimize ignitions on succeeding
				start-ups.
49.1.21. Thermal coal
				dryers previously installed in a tipple of cleaning plant shall be separated
				where practicable from other working areas by substantial partitions capable of
				providing greater resistance to explosion pressures than an exterior wall or
				walls.
49.1.22. When it is
				necessary to use extension cables for emergency illumination, such lighting
				devices shall be dust-tight and adequately guarded. When it becomes necessary
				to perform work in dryer bins or any other dusty area, permissible cap lamps
				shall be used for illumination.