Combustible wood dust in wood pellet and bioenergy plants presents a risk of fires and explosions that must be addressed to protect personnel, equipment, production and business reputation. Process safety management provides a framework to systematically address these risks. Key safety measures, such as process design, process and equipment integrity, and explosion mitigation are all implemented through effective process safety management (PSM) systems. This article outlines key elements of PSM and the suggested activities companies can undertake to strengthen their programs and close gaps.PSM and Incident Prevention&nbsp; Wood pellet plants, bioenergy facilities and other entities within the biomass sector face the ongoing challenge of minimizing combustible dust hazards in their day-to-day operations to protect their workers and prevent facility downtime. Flash fires (deflagrations) and explosions caused by ignited wood dust can harm personnel, damage equipment and interrupt business in these facilities. PSM systems help prevent process safety incidents and mitigate their effects by aiding in the development of safe work procedures, incident investigations and corrective action planning.Chapter 8 in NFPA 664, Standard on the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Woodworking Facilities, provides requirements for management system elements relating to process safety to help mitigate the impact of combustible dust fires and explosions, including operating procedures and practices, housekeeping, hot work and inspection, testing and maintenance. While not explicitly legislation, the Canadian Standards Association Z767, Process Safety Management, can also be used to implement a PSM system within facilities and organizations that may not be covered by process safety or combustible dust regulations but still have significant process safety risks.When looking to either establish new management system elements or improve an existing management system, it can be difficult to identify the key elements to focus on and how to implement them. Organizations should first establish the programs and policies they have in place and identify the gaps related to potential risks and hazards. A self-assessment against a management system framework can be used for this. After identifying areas for improvement, focused efforts and initiatives can be undertaken to close the gaps and roll out the programs throughout the organization.Evaluate Combustible Dust Risk and Safety Measures&nbsp; Process design, process and equipment integrity, and explosion mitigation are instrumental in reducing combustible dust risk. Effective explosion mitigation requires conducting a process risk assessment to identify, analyze and document process-related hazards and implement risk reduction measures. This involves assessing whether a process hazard analysis (PHA) or dust hazard analysis (DHA) has been completed and if a plan has been put in place for implementing control measures related to risk assessments and hazard analyses. Companies should do the following:• Define responsibility and develop a procedure for safety approval of new projects and changes.• Develop hazard identification procedures and analyze potential risk scenarios.&nbsp;• Implement safeguards aligned with good engineering practice.Process and equipment integrity include the inspection, testing and maintenance (ITM) of equipment and the establishment of safe work practices to help prevent or mitigate hazardous scenarios involving combustible dust (fires, deflagrations, explosions). Specifically, it should be determined whether formalized ITM procedures have been established for all onsite equipment and whether written procedures for operating the process and equipment have been established. Companies should:&nbsp;• Identify process safety critical equipment at your facility.• Implement a process for a pre-startup safety review before running a new or modified process or equipment.• Create an alarm and instrument management program.Improve Leadership Support and Process Safety Culture&nbsp; A robust PSM system requires support from the company’s senior leadership. Senior management should be accountable for the PSM system goals and objectives related to process safety, considering risks throughout the facility lifecycle. Suggested activities to improve leadership support and accountability include establishing a formal corporate process safety policy; developing a process for senior management to get feedback from all employees about the process safety policy; and providing training for managers, coordinators and supervisors in process safety culture leadership.Management systems also require an effective safety culture. Process safety culture is the collective mindset of the organization with respect to safety and risk, including attitudes and behaviors. Organizational policies should include statements establishing process safety as part of the company culture and a measure of successful operations. Recommendations for improving safety culture include conducting routine process safety culture surveys, explicitly acknowledging the critical function of frontline workers in identifying hazards, and implementing initiatives to combat complacency.The application of process safety elements allows companies to systematically establish programs and policies to manage combustible dust hazards while making them applicable to other facilities in their organization.Creating Safer, More Efficient Biomass Facilities&nbsp; Process safety elements play a key role in preventing fires and explosions caused by combustible dust. Companies should use self-assessments to evaluate their management systems and current safety culture to identify gaps to address opportunities for improvement. Industry best practices such as pre-startup safety reviews, DHAs and safety culture initiatives support the effective implementation of risk reduction measures. By applying these process safety concepts, biomass facilities can help protect their facilities and prevent downtime, leading to safer and more efficient operations.This article builds on the outcomes of a research project by Rayner Brown et al. (2024) that was recently completed and published by Dalhousie University, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, BC Forest Safety Council and Dust Safety Science. The project authors gratefully acknowledge funding from WorkSafeBC under an Innovation at Work grant. The views, findings, opinions and conclusions expressed herein do not represent the views of WorkSafeBC. Authors: Kayleigh Rayner Brown&nbsp; Lead Engineer, Industrial &amp; Process SafetyParker MacNeil&nbsp; Lead Engineer, &nbsp;Industrial &amp; Process SafetyJensen Hughes&nbsp; www.jensenhughes.com&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

2025-02-21 - Managing Combustible Dust Hazards with Process Safety (Biomass Magazine)

small_Industrial_Wood-Pellet.jpg

thumbnail_Industrial_Wood-Pellet.jpg

Industrial_Wood-Pellet.jpg

Process safety management provides a framework to systematically address risks associated with combustible wood dust.

Managing Combustible Dust Hazards with Process Safety

Upcoming Events

North American SAF Conference & Expo

2026 International Biomass Conference & Expo

Managing Combustible Dust Hazards with Process Safety.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Upcoming Events

North American SAF Conference & Expo

2026 International Biomass Conference & Expo

Managing Combustible Dust Hazards with Process Safety