31
Oct
2018

The Hidden Dangers of Combustible Dust

October 31st, 2018 |

Killer Dust 

A combustible dust is made up of any fine material that has the capability of catching fire and exploding when mixed with the oxygen in the air. Some materials that may be a combustible dust hazard include the following:

  • Agricultural Products
  • Metals
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Pesticides
  • Chemical Dusts
  • Wood
  • Textiles
  • Plastics
  • Rubber

Any workplace that manufactures or handles any of these products should be evaluated to see if they are at risk for combustible dust explosion. Dust from these products can gather on any surfaces, and when disturbed there is potential for an explosion. Even a small amount of dust built up can be a hazard.

In order for dust to be ignited, a few conditions need to be present. The dust in question must be combustible in nature, and light enough to be suspended in air. An ignition source must be in contact with the dust that is suspended in the air, and the atmosphere must contain enough oxygen to sustain a combustion.

To help avoid the risk of a dust explosion, the following measures should be looked into:

  • Dusts should be collected and removed properly from workspaces.
  • Proper ventilation equipment should be used.
  • All equipment should be kept in good repair.
  • Open flames, sparks, and heat sources should be removed from an area that contains dust.
  • Consider having a dust inspection program, and inspect regularly.
  • Combustible dust can cause a large explosion. Because of this, it is very important to educate employees and management teams to properly inspect for dust and keep all risks at bay. Many materials are at risk of explosion, so be sure that you are familiar with the materials that you are working with at all times.

Expertise of Trained Personnel

The capabilities of our personnel, our certificates of approval, and our long-term focus on innovation has driven our reputation for delivering cost efficient and flexible environmental contracting services and abatement of hazardous materials and from the early beginning, our expertise in industrial vacuum services.


Enviro-Vac is one of the largest privately owned hazardous materials abatement and decontamination contractors in Canada. They offer a full suite of services in hazardous materials abatement, decontamination and industrial vacuum services including negative pressure shrink- wrap containments and are available to work both small and large-scale projects across Canada. The head office is based in Surrey, BC.

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about hazardous materials abatement, decontamination, industrial vacuum services and industrial dust down or negative pressure shrink-wrap containments, please call us on our toll-free number, 1 (888) 296-2499.


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