The handling of dispersed solids may lead to undesirable release of dust particles. Size and quantity of the particles transferred into the gas with time depend on the binding and separating forces in the powder. These in turn are determined by characteristic parameters of the powder and of the process. Analogous to the well-known "fractional collection efficiency'' describing the dust separation, a newly defined "fractional release rate'' to quantify the release of dust is introduced. The application is demonstrated by an example and the way to further development of this innovative approach is demonstrated.