Managing combustible dust risks

When someone mentions the word dust, many people think of dirty and unkempt spaces. What might be less obvious is that dust, given the right circumstances, can cause explosive damage in industrial facilities.

Many production operations generate finely divided particles (dust). When those materials are organic in nature, such as wood, paper, rubber, grains, food, and also many inorganic metals, the resulting dust can introduces a fire and explosion hazard that may be capable of destroying equipment, rooms, or even entire buildings. Facilities that produce or handle combustible dusts warrant careful evaluation due to the potential for severe fire and explosion losses.

Additional resources:

• Understanding the hazard: combustible dust – Contact us to request a copy of this FM guide.
• FM Client Training Center – Learn more about combustible dust through FM’s Client Training Center courses, including hazards of combustible dust and the potential impacts of dust explosions and fires.
• FM Data Sheet 7-76 Combustible Dust – This data sheet provides practical, engineering based guidance for preventing combustible dust explosions and limiting escalation into secondary events.