A dust risk assessment looks at a job that throws dust into the air — cutting concrete, sanding hardwood, chasing walls, mixing powders, sweeping out a mill — and decides whether the people breathing it are protected well enough. The dust that does the damage is mostly too fine to see, so a room that looks clear can still be dangerous. This template records the task, the material and the people, rates each dust hazard, and then asks about every control in turn, so a control that should be in use and is not shows up as a finding rather than a gap nobody noticed. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Why fine dust is the one to worry about
Larger particles are caught in the nose and throat and coughed or swallowed. The finest fraction, often called respirable dust, travels to the deepest part of the lungs, where the body struggles to clear it. That is where respirable crystalline silica causes silicosis and lung cancer, and where wood dust, flour and other dusts cause asthma and lasting lung damage.
Because the harmful dust is invisible, an assessment cannot rely on how the air looks. It looks at the material, the tool, the time spent and the controls, and where there is doubt it calls for air sampling.
Assess the task, then each dust
Begin with the task in plain words: what is being cut, drilled, sanded or mixed, with what tool, for how long each shift. Then list each dust the task produces as its own entry. A single job such as refitting a kitchen can produce silica dust from a stone counter, wood dust from cabinet work and gypsum dust from drywall, and each has its own harm and its own controls.
Each entry gets a simple rating: how bad the harm could be, how likely exposure is with things as they stand, and the resulting risk as low, medium or high.
Controls that actually work on dust
The best control is not making the dust: ordering materials cut to size, using a fixing method that needs no drilling, or choosing a lower-dust product. After that, capture it where it is made, with a shroud and vacuum on the tool, or wet it down with water at the blade. Enclosed cabs with filtered air protect equipment operators, and barriers keep everyone else out of the dust zone.
Respirators come last because they only work when they are the right type, fitted to the face, and worn the whole time. The form asks about fit testing, facial hair and medical clearance, because a respirator that leaks around the edges protects very little.
Silica and combustible dust
If the work cuts, grinds or drills concrete, brick, block, stone, tile or engineered stone, a silica section opens. In the US, construction employers either follow the set of controls specified for each common task under the silica standard or measure exposure, and keep a written exposure control plan. Engineered stone deserves particular care: it can be mostly silica, and dry cutting it has caused severe disease in young workers.
If the dust can burn — wood, flour, sugar, many plastics and metals — a combustible dust section opens. A thin layer on beams and ledges can feed a much larger explosion once something disturbs it.
Common questions
What is a dust risk assessment?
A written look at a task that makes dust: what the dust is, who breathes it, what controls are in place, whether they are enough, and what needs to change. It is usually kept with the job's safety paperwork and reviewed when the task changes.
Is wood dust really a health hazard?
Yes. Wood dust can cause asthma and skin and eye irritation, and hardwood dust is classed as a cause of nasal cancer. Fine dust from sanding and from boards such as MDF is the main concern.
Is a disposable dust mask enough?
Sometimes, as the last layer on top of extraction or water, if it is the right rating for the dust and has been fit tested on the wearer. A loose mask or one worn over a beard gives far less protection than its rating suggests.
Why not just sweep up the dust?
Dry sweeping and blowing down with compressed air put the finest dust straight back into the air. Use a vacuum with a high-efficiency filter, or wet methods, instead.
When does a dust assessment need reviewing?
On the review date you set, and sooner when the material, the tool, the method or the people change, after air sampling or medical checks show a problem, or if someone reports a cough, breathlessness or irritation.