Designing Safety Into Size Reduction Equipment And Processes

By Scott Wennerstrum, Marketing and Technical Director, the Fitzpatrick Company

The evolution of size reduction equipment and processes in the pharmaceutical industry is one of gradual adaptation to meet higher standards of sanitation and safety. As requirements for sanitary processing as defined by evolving cGMP standards have become more stringent, manufacturers, and the equipment makers who supply them, have progressed to satisfy these requirements.

Increasingly, they have had to address two main safety requirements during the size reduction process: protecting operators from dangerous exposure to dust particles and eliminating the possibility of a dust explosion.