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Dust Collection Industry News

British Columbia is about to enforce the most comprehensive combustible-dust regulation in Canada. WorkSafeBC's amended rules, passed in November 2025, take effect January 4, 2027, and they reach well beyond wood dust — metal, chemical, plastic and fine food dusts are all covered. The core change: if a workplace handles or generates dust, employers must assume it's combustible unless a prescribed test proves otherwise, and they must complete a formal combustion risk assessment with a qualified person. Born from the province's 2012 sawmill tragedies, the rule may well become the template for other provinces. With less than four months to go, the countdown has started.

What this means for clients of AST Canada:

The rule's two pillars are services AST already provides. "Assume it's combustible unless tested" is a call for laboratory combustible-dust testing, and the mandatory combustion risk assessment is a Dust Hazard Analysis by another name — and it now applies to metal, plastic, food and wood dusts alike. Even outside B.C., this is where Canadian regulation is heading. AST Canada can test your dust, complete your DHA, and size the collection and explosion protection that keep you ahead of the rule.

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Case Study

Silica Dust Collector Preventive Maintenance

Craig Equipment Company worked alongside the maintenance team at a silicone products manufacturer to perform preventive maintenance on a Donaldson Torit DFE 2-4 dust collector, service key components, replace filters, and provide hands-on guidance for maintaining the system in a demanding silica dust environment.

Upcoming Events

Dust Collection System Design for Woodworking

This webinar provides an overview of common woodworking processes that require dust collection. We’ll cover the four key components of a woodworking dust collection system—hoods, ducts, collectors/filters, and fans—and conclude with a Q&A on system design with experienced filtration professionals.

Online Tues, September 29, 2026

Noon EDT - UTC-4

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Dust Hazard Analysis and Combustible Dust Testing Services

Canada Bets on Homegrown Protein



Canada grows millions of tonnes of soybeans each year — but ships most of the value-added processing elsewhere. A demonstration plant in Benmiller, Ontario aims to change that. New Protein International is working toward Canada's first large-scale soy protein isolate facility, a plant that would turn roughly 70,000 tonnes of soybeans a year into about 17,500 tonnes of protein isolate. Backers see a broader prize: an estimated $25 billion in annual GDP if Canada builds out domestic food and plant-based ingredient manufacturing. It's part of a growing push to process more of what the country grows, closer to home.

What this means for clients of AST Canada:

The dust risk doesn't start at the protein plant — it runs the whole length of the soybean chain. Combustible grain dust is a hazard everywhere soybeans are stored, moved and handled, from on-farm bins and grain elevators to crushing and oilseed processing, right through to the fine protein powders at the isolate stage. Wherever product is dried, conveyed, milled or packaged, AST Canada can help — bin vents and collectors for storage and handling, cartridge collectors for processing lines, and the Dust Hazard Analysis and combustible-dust testing that keep the whole operation safe.

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