ASSESSMENT OF FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARD OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS OF MECHANICAL WOODWORKING
PURPOSE. Wood dust is a great fire hazard at mechanical processing of woodwork on entering industrial premises under the influence of turbulent diffusion and distributing in the atmosphere of the room. At the same time there is a sedimentation of dust particles on the surface of the equipment, building constructions. The accumulated combustible dust creates a high fire and explosion hazard of the entire technological process. The conditions, stimulating the accumulation of combustible dust in the premises, which is accumulated in the result of mechanical woodworking, are considered. METHODS. Probability-statistic methods are most acceptable for calculating occurrence probability of a fire or explosion at the objects of woodworking industry, as they capture the random character of fire and explosion accidents and allow to assess the actual level of fire and explosion hazard of the technological process, equipment, premises, building, where it takes place. FINDINGS. The article presents the model of dust-air mixture distribution in the production area. RESEARCH APPLICATION FIELD. The proposed model allows to determine the amount of dust that can be accumulated in the manufacturing area for any period of time, and thus influences fire and explosion hazard of the technological process of mechanical woodworking. CONCLUSIONS. On the basis of the obtained empirical dependences the recommendations are given on improving fire and explosion safety of mechanical woodworking process.