I've been looking at NFPA 490 "Storage of Ammonium Nitrate. Very interesting and only 11 pages. 1000 lbs triggers a AHJ permit requirement. 60 Tons triggers a AHJ storage "approval". 2500 tons triggers a sprinkler requirement. AHJ must approve all sites regarding, residential, Assembly, schools, hospitals, etc. I look forward to NFPA's incident report where we learn the relevant facts. Factoid: Ammonium Nitrate explodes with about 1/2 the blast effect of explosives. NFPA 495 discusses separation distances for explosives and Ammonium Nitrate.
C. Burton Ford NICET Certified IV NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist Cintas Fire Protection Inc 1038 Conshohocken Rd Conshohocken, PA 19428 Tel 610-233-1400 Fax 610-233-1401 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 4:32 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: West, TX explosion Recent AHJ plan reviewer and inspector. As Arthur noted, prior to construction or change of occupancy, or in his case preparation prior to traveling to do an inspection, doing an Effective interview is a key activity of an AHJ . Being the one segment of city organization that knows what is normal for a particular industry is of assistance. Even a quick look at wikipedia before meeting helps. Of course I worked in an environment that more or less expected me to enforce codes, even if at times that made powers that be displeased. OSHA et al . When you cut budgets in a high-labor field you get less output. You can only automate so much. Boots on the ground count. The only ways self-enforcement works consistently if there is a strong value either in broader society, or within an industry, that doing things in safe manner is the only way. Think chlorine industry for a good example. The other is if when caught by either a rare, effectively random inspection, or an event happens, the results are so draconian that almost no one will violate good practice. This is not part of the culture. West, Texas. Part of the expressed culture of non-Austin Texas is defiance for rules, especially rules society embodies as laws. Choices society makes matter. bv From: "Todd - Work" < tgw @ fpdc .com> To: sprinklerforum @ firesprinkler .org Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 9:09:25 AM Subject: West, TX explosion >From reading the latest reports, the fertilizer facility in West, TX that >exploded had 270 tons of ammonium nitrate on site. They had previously told >authorities that they had nothing hazardous. They were required to file with >DHS if they have more than 400 pounds on site and only exceeded that by 1350 >times. (Don't forget, Timothy McVeigh used a lot of that at the OK City >bombing). Obviously there is a problem at the management level. So when we evaluate facilities for sprinkler protection, how are people handling hazardous materials? As a PE, I will address it one way. If a contractor is looking at it in a design/build project, how is that being addressed? Todd G Williams, PE Fire Protection Design/Consulting Stonington , CT www . fpdc .com _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list Sprinklerforum @lists. firesprinkler .org http ://lists. firesprinkler .org/ listinfo . cgi / sprinklerforum - firesprinkler .org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org This e-mail transmission contains information that is intended to be confidential and privileged. If you receive this e-mail and you are not a named addressee you are hereby notified that you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy or disseminate this communication without the consent of the sender and that doing so is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please reply to the message immediately by informing the sender that the message was misdirected. After replying, please delete and otherwise erase it and any attachments from your computer system. Your assistance in correcting this error is appreciated. _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
