Areas of activity and frequency of explosions

Suspended dusts, made up of oxidizable materials suspended in the air, can form flammable mixtures. Their ignition in a confined environment – an enclosure, an appliance –, can constitute a dust explosion accompanied by a pressure effect.

It is conceivable that oxidizing gases other than air or oxygen + nitrogen mixtures could contribute to dust explosions, but these are very rare circumstances, and no precise examples are known.

• Dust explosions affect a wide range of industrial activities, since flammable dusts come from a wide variety of sources. There's no need to go into more detail on the industrial activities...