大麻火灾和爆炸调查突显彩宝网安全挑战

安德鲁巴黎

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2024年1月4日

在各区域使大麻合法化已经引导了一个经济机会和新挑战并存的新时代. 一个突出的紧迫问题是大麻彩宝网发生火灾和爆炸的风险. What exacerbates this issue is the industry's relative youth, 由于缺乏标准化的安全协议和法规,这一点得到了强调.

In legalized cannabis production facilities, 规范和标准涵盖了建筑物的建造,并提供了人身和财产的安全. 建筑和安装必须遵守许可和承包商许可规定. 通常, 这些装置需要相关的有管辖权的当局(AHJ)的检查和批准。, which could include local building, 管道, fire or electrical inspectors. 从事合法大麻生产和加工的商业设施现在受其各自司法管辖区制定的标准守则和条例的约束.

Many reasons are behind the increasing number of incidents, such as the production of hash oil (a concentrated cannabis product), electrical problems with overloaded circuits, failures of HID lighting and a lack of industry standards, 在许多其他方面. Cannabis facilities often deal with volatile materials, such as the gases and 液体 used for hash oil extraction. 由于缺乏彩宝网特定的安全指南,许多运营商可能没有充分意识到这些过程的风险,也没有充分意识到如何有效地减轻这些风险.

在彩宝网, 多年来,彩宝网平台调查了数十起合法和非法大麻生产和加工活动中的火灾和爆炸事件. These include growing operations ranging from one to thousands of plants. 虽然彩宝网平台已经看到安全的提高,现在在一些地区的行动已经合法化, we still see many of the same issues we find in illegal growing operations.

Unsafe Product Usage, Deficiencies and Operational Practices

值得注意的是,如果严格遵守适当的安全标准,彩宝网平台长期以来遇到的许多火灾和爆炸都是可以避免的. 不过, 必须认识到,严格遵守安全标准并不能完全消除火灾和爆炸的风险. These risks can still arise from unsafe consumer product usage, 安装缺陷, 产品缺陷, or inadequate housekeeping and operational practices, 如:

  1. 不当的拼接. 一些操作人员使用不适当的方法,如扭曲和胶带接头,而不是认可的接头连接器, like terminal blocks or wire nuts.
  2. 混合不同金属. Connecting dissimilar metals like aluminum and copper can be problematic. Due to differing coefficients of thermal expansion, these connections may loosen and eventually fail when exposed to heat.
  3. 污染风险. Cannabis grow facilities often have humid environments, making them susceptible to contamination by water, 液体, 污垢, 油脂和更多.
  4. 插件连接不良. 松动或连接不良的设备和延长线连接可能会造成重大危险. 随着时间的推移,插座可能会失去抓握力,导致连接松动.

Improper Electrical Installation

在合法的大麻种植操作中,电力装置的质量得到了改善, but issues with improper electrical wiring still persist. These problems pose serious hazards, including:

  1. Illegally Bypassing Electric Meters. 有些操作员在检修口接上导线,以绕过电表, aiming to avoid high electricity bills from multiple high-output grow lamps. 这种非法的做法不仅会造成致命的电击风险,而且还会增加因连接不良而发生火灾的可能性.
  2. Directly Connecting Circuits to Main Service Lugs. 节约成本, 操作人员有时将馈线和分支电路直接连接到电气面板中的主维修接线上,而不是为新设备使用额外的断路器或面板. 这种捷径给安装人员带来了安全隐患,并且由于连接不良而增加了火灾风险.
  3. Improper and Unprotected Splices. 经常, operators resort to twisting and taping connections instead of using wire nuts, splicing conductors outside of rated junction boxes, or overloading splices with too many conductors. These practices expose operators to shock and fire hazards.
  4. Inappropriately Upgrading Circuit Breakers or Fuses. 一些操作人员将跳闸断路器或熔断器更换为更高额定值的断路器或熔断器,以防止跳闸,而不是解决过流的根本原因. 这种危险的做法可以通过重新分配负载或升级电路来减轻.
  5. Misuse of Electrical Equipment. 使用非ul标示的电气系统设备或不正确使用ul标示的设备是常见的错误. 地方和州电气法规通常要求ul列表或类似额定设备以确保安全.

解决这些电线问题对于加强安全并减少合法大麻种植设施发生电气火灾和事故的风险至关重要.

Exposure to Multiple Ignition Sources

传统上, cannabis grow operations have utilised high-power, high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting. This presents several hazards, including combustibles touching the extremely hot lamp glass, 机械损坏导致玻璃破碎和潜在的设备或材料着火, and lamp failure due to oil or grease contamination.

其他照明选择,如全光谱荧光灯和LED灯具也有其自身的危险, such as installation defects, incorrect electrical connections, 电压供应问题, and substandard ballasts or power supplies. 荧光灯, 特别是, can pose a fire risk when the lamps are misaligned during installation.

含四氢大麻酚的大麻油可以用丁烷作为溶剂从大麻中提取, 通常是小规模的. Butane evaporation is the most hazardous phase of this process, as butane fumes are highly flammable and explosive. 丁烷比空气重,可以在地板上积聚,造成严重的危险. 不正确的提取方法或不合适的环境可能导致火灾或爆炸, with common household appliances inadvertently acting as ignition sources.

Be Aware of Potential Hazards

在不同的大麻生产和加工设施中,彩宝网平台的专家团队调查了火灾的起源和原因,面临许多问题和火灾原因. 必须意识到这些潜在的危险,以确保大麻产业中的个人和财产安全. Safety can be maintained through careful designs, proper installations and adherence to manufacturer instructions, 当地电气规范, 以及建筑法规. 这些措施对于保护员工、财产和整体运营至关重要.

安德鲁J的大头照. 巴黎

作者简介

安德鲁J. 巴黎
Drew 巴黎是Jensen Hughes法医电气工程实践的主管. He specializes in investigating and consulting on electrical fires and failures, electrical system design and safety.