Wood Dust Safety: What Employers Need to Know
Under New Zealand health and safety legislation, businesses have a legal responsibility to protect workers from health risks associated with airborne contaminants, including inhalable wood dust.
WorkSafe NZ guidance makes it clear that managing wood dust is not optional. PCBUs must take all reasonably practicable steps to eliminate or minimise exposure and ensure workers are not put at risk.
What Employers Are Required to Do
WorkSafe NZ expects employers to:
Identify tasks and processes that generate wood dust
Assess the level of risk created by inhaling airborne dust
Implement effective control measures
Review and maintain controls to ensure they remain effective
This applies across all wood-related industries, including manufacturing, processing, joinery and sawmilling.
Controls Must Come First
WorkSafe strongly promotes the use of higher-order controls, particularly engineering solutions that reduce dust at the source. These include:
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV)
On-tool dust extraction systems
Enclosed or isolated dusty processes
Administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) can support these measures, but PPE should not be relied on as the primary control.
When Exposure Monitoring Is Expected
If there is uncertainty about whether workers are being exposed to harmful levels of wood dust, WorkSafe guidance recommends exposure monitoring carried out by competent professionals.
Monitoring provides objective data that helps employers:
Confirm whether controls are working
Identify high-risk tasks or roles
Prioritise improvements
Demonstrate due diligence during inspections or audits
Without monitoring, businesses are often relying on assumptions rather than evidence.
How Verum Group Supports Compliance
Managing wood dust exposure doesn’t have to be guesswork. Verum Group provides independent inhalable dust exposure monitoring, expert reporting, and practical guidance tailored to your workplace. Our services help you understand actual dust exposure, verify controls, support compliance with WorkSafe NZ guidance, and maintain a safer work environment for your team.
We deliver:
Personal and task-based exposure monitoring
Clear, practical reporting
Support in understanding results and next steps
This allows businesses to demonstrate that wood dust risks are being actively managed, not just acknowledged.