Industrial & Special Hazard Protection

When does NFPA 68 require explosion-vent panels instead of a suppression system?

NFPA 68 deflagration venting is the default mitigation for dust-collector hoppers, grain silos, and powder-handling rooms — anywhere a dust explosion is fast enough that you cannot detect and suppress before the vessel overpressures. NFPA 69 suppression with HRD bottles takes over when the enclosure cannot be vented safely outdoors: indoor locations, occupied process rooms, or high-toxicity dusts where rupturing the panel would vent the cloud into a workspace.

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