Emission from coal-fired boilers is an issue because of the current concern over atmospheric air toxics, which contain high concentrations of trace elements. The best method of minimizing the emission of these air toxic trace elements to the atmosphere is to install high-efficiency fine-particle control devices. After collection, the dust must be removed from the filter bags or electrostatic precipitator (ESP) plates and transferred to the hopper without significant redispersion. Since it is more difficult to collect fine particles, the extent to which the dust is redispersed into its original particle-size distribution will have a major impact on the overall fine-particle collection efficiency of the filter or ESP and, subsequently, the collection efficiency of air toxic metals. The goal of Task 2.4 was to evaluate redispersion of dust in particulate control devices so that the appropriate methods to minimize redispersion can be implemented. The primary objective was to determine the extent that fly ash is redispersed as individual particles upon cleaning of the filters or ESP plates. The current research was to determine if the level of redispersion of fly ash correlates with measurable cohesive dust properties. This will contribute to the long-term project goal of developing models to the point where they can be used to help design particulate control devices for the lowest level of fine-particle emissions at a reasonable cost.