Overview of Item 5

A PSR would be required for Item 5 when the use of a dust collector involves a risk of ignition or explosion that creates a condition of imminent hazard to a person’s health or safety. Section 65 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation sets out the requirements for dust collectors that collect aluminum, magnesium, or other fine dust of an easily ignitable nature.

To comply with section 65, the dust collector must be located outdoors; or in a room used only for the housing of dust-collecting equipment which is separated from the rest of the building by a dust-tight partition having a minimum fire rating of one hour and constructed to provide explosion venting to the outdoors.

While not specific to a PSR for Item 5, section 64 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation requires that where the hazard of a dust explosion may be created by the entry of foreign particles into equipment, the equipment must have separators which prevent such entry.

Out of scope

A PSR for Item 5 is not required for a collector that, either:

  • uses an inert liquid as a medium to collect dust
  • is used for a wood-working operation other than wood flour manufacturing and having less than 0.47 cubic metres per second capacity
  • will safely contain explosions
  • will resist explosions and is equipped with effective explosion venting to the outdoors

See subsection 65(2) of the Industrial Establishments regulation for details.

PSR for Item 5

A PSR for dust collectors must include details of the measures to comply with section 65 of the Industrial Establishments Regulation.

The following codes, guidelines, regulation and standards should/may be used by the reviewer conducting the PSR to determine compliance or measures to be taken to achieve compliance for Item 5:

  • Ontario Building Code (O. Reg. 332/12) under the Building Code Act, 1992
  • Ontario Electrical Safety Code (O. Reg. 164/99) under the Electricity Act, 1998
  • Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07) under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997
  • Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 and its regulations
  • Guidelines for Handling Aluminum Fines Generated During Various Aluminum Fabricating Operations (designated F-1), published by The Aluminum Association
  • Factory Mutual Systems - Handbook of Industrial Loss Prevention
  • PLUS 2203 HAZLOC-94, Hazardous Locations: A Guide for the Design, Construction and Installation of Electrical Equipment in Explosive Atmospheres, by John A. Bossert (Available from CSA ISBN 0-921347-39-1)
  • Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook
  • Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers
  • Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers
  • Factory Mutual Global (FM Global) - Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets
  • Industrial Ventilation: A Manual of Recommended Practice for Design, published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and codes of practice
  • NFPA 652 Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust
  • NFPA 654 Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids
  • NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals
  • NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting

Reviewer for item 5

A reviewer for Item 5 must be an engineer.

Exemptions for Item 5

There are no exemptions for Item 5, Dust Collectors.