Measures for safe use of combustible dust
What is combustible dust?
Combustible dust is defined as any finely divided combustible particulate solid that may present a flash fire or explosion hazard when suspended in the air. You may find the list of combustible dust in the Fourth Schedule of the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations.
Effective 1 January 2025, the list of hazardous substances in the Fifth Schedule of the WSH Act will be expanded to include combustible dust. Duties of manufacturers and suppliers will also be extended to include combustible dust.
Labelling for combustible dust
All packages and containers of combustible dust in workplaces are required to be labelled to include:
- An alert of combustible dust hazard. The statement "Warning: May form explosible dust-air mixture if dispersed" needs to be explicitly stated on the label.
Precautionary measures to be taken when handling combustible dust.
For organic combustible dust such as flour, sugar, or potato starch, labelling will only be required for packages of 25kg and above.
You may refer to examples of warning labels for containers of combustible dust.
Notification to MOM on use of combustible dust
Factories that handle, sort, pack, store, process, manufacture or use combustible dust specified in the Fourth Schedule of the WSH (General Provisions) Regulations at or above the prescribed threshold quantity will be required to notify MOM and the owner of the factory such as the building owner or landlord.
Occupiers are required to:
- Notify MOM
- At least one month before starting the use of any particular combustible dust in your factory at or above the threshold quantity
- At the soonest possible before increasing the quantity of any particular combustible dust in your factory to or above the threshold quantity, if that combustible dust is currently in use
- Not later than one month after stopping the use of all combustible dust at your factory
- Notify the owner of the factory
- Before starting the use of any particular combustible dust in your factory at or above the threshold quantity
- After stopping the use of all combustible dust at your factory
This allows MOM to have oversight on factories with a combustible dust risk and for landlords to take proactive steps to avoid incompatible work among tenants.
You may refer to WSH (General Provisions) Regulations on existing control measures to prevent an explosion in the workplace arising from explosive or flammable dust.
