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Grinding disc failures

One of our members has alerted us to a number of near misses from one of their vessels concerning the breaking up of grinding discs. The latest report states that a newly installed grinding disc broke up and flew apart during use, narrowly missing the operator and his assistant. The nine inch disc had been fitted and was being used by a qualified person. There was no reason to believe that the disc was damaged prior to use. The disc was rated for use at 6800 rpm and was being used on a grinder rated at 6000 rpm.

Subsequent to this report, more failures were reported and the complete batch of discs was taken out of use pending further investigation.

The member involved has observed problems with the following dics:

  • OHSB disc sizes (230 x 6 x 22.2) and (125 x 6 x 22.2)
  • Coflex Extra 230 diameter

Safety Event

Published: 1 April 2000
Download: IMCA SF 02/00

IMCA Safety Flashes
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IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding safetyreports@imca-int.com to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.

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