Safety Control, Fire Protection and Occupational Health Effects of Wood Processing

Dear Colleagues,

The wood and wood biomass processing sector has undergone significant growth across various domains in recent decades, along with the consumption of energies, materials and media.

Wood, as a renewable resource, is playing an increasingly vital role in industrial production. The escalating demands for quantity, quality and technological security are concurrently driving requirements for human potential and personnel security. However, this upward trajectory also brings a heightened potential for risks that could jeopardize both property and human well-being. The issue of health and safety at work is frequently underestimated and inadequately monitored, compounded by legislative complexities and confusion. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis of risks and safety vulnerabilities is crucial to acquire the insights needed to establish clear and comprehensible guidelines within the realm of occupational safety and health protection. It is urgent to invent and implement new, advanced technologies and processes as well as to optimize the operation of the existing ones in all spheres of human society. This Special Issue endeavors to provide an in-depth analysis and synthesis of knowledge concerning safety and health protection in the workplace throughout the entire wood and wood biomass production and processing chain. In an effort to address the insufficiently explored aspects of this field, an international scientific conference is planned to take place at the Technical University in Zvolen (Slovakia) in September 2025. This conference will specifically focus on biomass and the associated risks in its production. Moreover, this Special Issue welcomes contributions that concentrate on the analysis of the fire and technological safety of buildings in diverse types of operations within this sector. The overarching goal is to present a comprehensive perspective on safety considerations within the industry, aiming to enhance the overall understanding and effective risk management in the domain of wood and wood biomass processing.

Potential topics can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Wood biomass production and storage;
• Health and safety risks during the processing, storage and utilization of forest biomass;
• Mathematical modeling and simulation of forest biomass production and consumption;
• Fire science and management in wood production and processing;
• Wood properties;
• Wood biomass production and storage;
• Biorefinery;
• The wood processing industry;
• Occupational diseases and work safety in forestry and agroforestry systems;
• Fire and explosion protection and prevention in biomass processing, storage and burning;
• Risk factors in wood production processes;
• Legislation for the process of production, storage and utilization of forest biomass;
• Future perspectives on and directions for the management of safety in wood product production;
• The processes of biomass burning and utilization for energy purposes.

Dr. Eva Mračková
Dr. Martin Lieskovský
Dr. Ján Kizek
Dr. Martin Kučerka
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biomass
• wood and wood product production
• occupational health effects
• safety at work
• fire protection
• explosion protection
• statistical analyses
• oxygen-enhanced combustion
• thermal efficiency
• process modeling and biomass valorization