Combustible Dusts Hazard Assessment Template

One of Canada's worst workplace disasters—the 1992 Westray Mine explosion that killed 26 miners—demonstrates how combustible materials and airborne dust can combine with ignition sources to produce devastating fires and explosions. Industries at the highest risk include food processing, agriculture, wood products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and metal fabrication. 

Regrettably, combustible dust hazards are often overlooked. Dust appears harmless and it accumulates slowly. Result: Companies tend to treat it as a housekeeping nuisance rather than a ticking time bomb ready to detonate at any moment.  

The starting point for controlling combustible dust hazards is to identify and assess them. Here's a Dust Hazard Assessment Template geared to comply with Canadian Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements and widely recognized technical guidance from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that you can adapt for your own use. Retain and review your Hazard Assessment along with: 

• Housekeeping inspection logs 
• Maintenance records 
• Worker training documentation 
• Incident reports.