Mitigating fire and explosion hazards of powdered metals

Although a lay person's common experience is that metals do not typically burn, many metals when present as a fine powder present a fire and explosion hazard. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard on Combustible Metals (NFPA 484), '[a]ny metal in a fine enough form can be combustible and/or explosible' [1]. A good example is the combustibility of iron dust, when present as a fine dust that has not been oxidized.