The WPAC Safety Committee has a wide range of ongoing initiatives to keep people safe.
Training
Every one to two years, WPAC, in cooperation with the BC Forest Safety Council, WorkSafeBC and media partner Canadian Biomass, delivers the Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit.
The 2026 event is being held in Prince George June 9-10.
Past Summit Presentations
In the spirit of safety needs to be shared, you can find past Summit presentations in our resources section:
Read:
Operator Safety Training for pellet manufacturers has officially risen to the next level. Working together with the BC Forest Safety Council, we have launched an industry-wide initiative to deliver a free, comprehensive, digital e-learning safety training program for plant operators and supervisors.
Found on wpaclearning.com, the Safety Foundation Webinar Series is six free webinars for the industry to use.
WPAC’s safety committee developed the series in cooperation with WorkSafeBC and UBC Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group, BioMass Canada.
Webinars include:
- Bow Tie Analysis Part I and Part II
- Human-Machine Interaction Part I and Part II
- Safe Handling and Storage of Biomass Part I and Part II
Sign up and watch the webinars: wpaclearning.com
Latest Safety Initiatives
Around the world, process safety management (PSM) is becoming central to worker safety and managing risk. PSM implementation protects personnel, equipment, and production uptime, and is associated with lower maintenance cost, insurance, and capital.
The industry is implementing PSM through a strategic long-term plan, using the CSA Z767 Process Safety Management standard as the framework. The initiative is a core focus of the WPAC Safety Committee Workplan for the next 5-7 years.
Drum dryers present the risk of fires and explosions due to combustible dust, as well as conditions that can lead to the generation and accumulation of combustible gas.
WPAC in collaboration with the BC Forest Safety Council established a Drum Dryer Working Group to examine trends, identify opportunities for improvement, and formulate recommendations.
The Working Group developed recommendations to share with the industry. The result is the 2026 report: Safer Operation of Rotary Drum Dryer.
The report will be discussed at the 2026 Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit in June in Prince George and a webinar will be conducted after for those that can’t attend the summit.
Read the 2026 report: Safer Operation of Rotary Drum Dryer
Read the 2026 article: Rotary Drum Dryer Safety: Habits That Prevent Fires Before They Start
Watch the 2024 Symposium that started the process: Drum Dryer Symposium
The WPAC Safety Committee developed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for safe winter fibre loading and unloading, published in early 2026.
The SOP explains how to load and unload biomass—chips, hog fuel, sawdust, bark (referred to here as fibre)—at pellet plants and sawmills in winter conditions in a safe, consistent, and effective manner. It sets clear steps to prevent injuries, protect equipment, avoid quality losses from frozen material, and prevent environmental releases. It also ensures the procedure is easy to find and follow for everyone involved.
Read 2026 report: SOP for Winter Truck Loading/Unloading
Completed Safety Initiatives
As belt dryers have become more common, the pellet industry has experienced several safety incidents over the past few years.
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC), in co-operation with the BC Forest Safety Council, WorkSafeBC, and media partner Canadian Biomass, held the Belt Dryer Symposium on Nov. 25, 2020. The purpose of the Belt Dryer Safety Symposium was to share the learnings from these incidents and for individual operators to share in-house safe operating procedures with their industry colleagues. You can read more about the symposium and key learnings here.
The Working Group released its final report on belt dryer safety in 2022, after more than 50 meetings in 2021. You can be read the brief report and the one-page fact sheet for operators here.
Key recommendations include:
- removing infeed contaminants and resisting the urge to ensure clean feedstock enters dryers
- using indirect-heated belt dryers instead of direct-heated belt dryers
- applying additional controls besides the ones provided by the dryer manufacturers, such as spark detection and suppression in the burner channel, below belt internal deluge, Infra-Red (IR) thermal detection above and below belts, and controlling contaminants from entering the burner
- employing the bow tie analysis approach to review and update safety procedures, looking for any missing steps
Anyone seeking more information or interested in joining the working group should contact Fahimeh Yazdan Panah, WPAC’s director of research and technical development:
Tel: 1-778-990-2656
Email: fahimeh@pellet.org
Read report and fact sheet: Safer Operation of Direct-Heated Belt Dryers
Read Canadian Biomass Magazine article: Key Takeaways From WPAC’s Belt-dryer Symposium
Working at heights while performing routine and non-routine maintenance tasks, completing rail car loading, and entering and exiting large mobile equipment presents the risk of falls, which can lead to injuries, fatalities, and business interruption.
The report Bow-Tie Analysis of Working at Heights in Wood Products Manufacturing by Obex Risk Ltd.:
- Outlines working from heights hazards.
- States the objectives and motivation for the bow-tie analysis.
- Summarizes the 2023 workshop.
- Provides the bow-tie analysis results, discussion and recommendations.
The report was sponsored by the Manufacturing Advisory Group of the BC Forest Safety Council.
Combustible wood dust in confined storage could present a risk of fire and explosion if it’s not managed effectively. The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) has developed tools to improve safety and lower the risk when working around wood fibre storage.
In 2017, WPAC’s Safety Committee, in collaboration with the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC), the Manufacturing Advisory Group and WorkSafeBC, established a Working Group to lead the process on developing best practices for combustible dust management in wood fibre storage. This collaboration resulted in the formation of the Wood Fibre Storage Working Group (WFSWG), with the overall objective of improving safety within the wood manufacturing sector by eliminating injuries and fatalities.
WPAC and the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) have released a new report that summarizes the key actions plant operators can take to manage the risk of combustible gas in drum dryers.
View presentation: Confined Spaces Entry Program Management
Utilize risk assessment and permit: Confined Space Baler Cross Collection Vault Confined Space
WorkSafeBC
- WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation: Part 09 Confined Spaces
- WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety: Guidelines Part 09
- Confined Space Entry Program: A Reference Manual
Canadian Centre for Occupation Health and Safety
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Confined Space – Introduction
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Confined Space – Program
WorkSafeNB
United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA)
Despite significant safety advancements in the pellet industry, the potential remains for pellet plants to experience major unwanted events (MUEs) such as explosions, fires, and fatal accidents that are hard to prevent with traditional approaches to safety.
WPAC, BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC), and Dalhousie University partnered on an initiative to improve pellet industry practices regarding equipment isolation with an eye on minimizing the impact of potential combustible dust fires, explosions and deflagrations within wood pellet plants.
When fibre is stored in piles, self-heating, and combustion can occur over time. The smouldering can continue for months, and can produce caverns that collapse when weight is put on the pile. These gaps are like a furnace and can reach extreme temperatures.
The Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG) is a world-class research group of engineers and scientists based at the University of British Columbia. This fact sheet provides the latest information based on the centre’s research related to best practices on the safe handling and storage of pellets, part of a four-year research project involving WPAC, the BC Forest Safety Council, and BioFuelNet Canada, and funded through the federal Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
You can read more about this ground breaking work in an interview with Canadian Biomass Magazine and Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj who led this work.
There are also wood fibre storage safety bulletins and a gap analysis form available in our resources section.
Read fact sheet: Fibre Pile Management for Pellet Plants
Read safety bulletins and use gap analysis form: Wood Fibre Storage
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Shaw Renewables has developed an SOP for monitoring wood fibre piles and has generously agreed to share it with the industry.
Read Shaw Renewables SOP: Monitoring Wood Fiber Piles for Off-Gassing, Self-Heating, and Internal Fire Risk
ISD focuses on elimination of hazards and treatment of hazards at the source, rather than relying on only add-on equipment and procedures. ISD is based on four principles: minimization, substitution, moderation, and simplification.
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