Dust Explosibility Screening (Go/No-Go)
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Combustible Dust Testing
Get the Data You Need to Control Risk, Ensure Compliance, and Protect What Matters
Combustible dust poses serious, often underestimated risks from catastrophic explosions to regulatory violations and business interruptions. DEKRA’s combustible dust testing services help you detect hazards early, comply with NFPA 660 and 652, and implement control measures that save lives and protect assets. With decades of process safety experience and ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories, DEKRA is the trusted partner for companies managing flammable powders, fibers, and other combustible dust risks across manufacturing, processing, and storage environments.
Why Combustible Dust Testing Matters
Failure to understand the explosibility or ignition sensitivity of your materials can lead to:
- Dust explosions or flash fires
- Injuries, fatalities, and facility loss
- Legal liability and fines
- Permitting delays and shutdowns
- Production interruptions and reputational damage
Whether you're launching a new process, performing a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA), or responding to a compliance gap, our combustible dust testing helps you take the right steps with confidence.
Our Combustible Dust Testing Services
We offer a full suite of testing services to support hazard identification, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation strategies.
Meet the Scientists Behind the Results
Go beyond the numbers. Meet the DEKRA scientists who turn test results into insights that help clients make informed process safety decisions.
See Process Safety Testing in Action
Step inside DEKRA’s Princeton laboratory and see how our scientists test materials, uncover process risks, and turn results into actionable safety insights.
Dust Explosion Severity (20L Sphere – Kst & Pmax)
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Limiting Oxygen Concentration (LOC)
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Minimum Explosible Concentration (MEC)
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Minimum Ignition Energy (MIE)
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Minimum Ignition Temperature – Dust Cloud (MIT Cloud)
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Minimum Ignition Temperature – Dust Layer (MIT Layer / LIT)
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All testing is conducted using standardized methods and can be supported by performance-based consulting for tailored risk control measures.
Why Choose DEKRA for Combustible Dust Testing
- ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories
- Decades of real-world experience across industries
- Global process safety expertise and regulatory insight
- Available GLP testing through our Southampton, UK lab
- Integrated testing, consulting, and training from one partner
We help you go beyond the data by translating test results into clear, actionable safety strategies.
Start Your Combustible Dust Risk Assessment Today
Combustible dust hazards are preventable, but only if you know they exist. DEKRA helps you find the risks, understand the science, and take control.
Contact us today to speak with a DEKRA combustible dust expert.
Combustible dust testing evaluates whether a dust can ignite, burn, or explode under specified conditions. Depending on the scope, dust explosion testing may also measure potential explosion severity and determine how sensitive the material is to ignition sources.
Many common materials, including food products, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, wood products, and metals, can become combustible when processed into fine particles. Combustible dust testing helps organizations determine whether a material presents a fire or explosion hazard and provides data that can support effective risk management measures.
Combustible dust testing services are commonly used in food processing, agriculture, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, wood processing, plastics, metals, and recycling. Dust hazard testing may be appropriate for any operation that manufactures, handles, processes, or stores powders and particulate solids.
Organizations often perform combustible dust hazard testing when introducing new materials, modifying processes, conducting a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA), addressing compliance requirements, investigating incidents, or evaluating existing hazards. Additional testing may be appropriate when material or process conditions change.
A DHA relies on accurate material and process data to identify and evaluate potential fire, flash fire, and explosion hazards. Combustible dust analysis provides critical information that can help organizations assess risk and determine appropriate prevention and protection measures.
Depending on the testing scope, dust explosibility testing can determine whether a material is explosible and evaluate potential explosion severity. Additional testing can assess how easily the dust may ignite and identify conditions that could increase the level of risk.
Yes. Combustible dust testing is frequently used to provide technical data for compliance efforts associated with NFPA 660, Dust Hazard Analyses, and combustible dust management programs. The required tests depend on the material, process, potential hazards, and objectives of the evaluation.
Yes. Materials such as sugar, flour, grain, wood dust, plastics, and many other common substances can present combustible dust hazards when dispersed as fine particles under certain conditions. Dust hazard testing helps determine whether a specific material can ignite or produce an explosion hazard.