Standards NFPA OSHA

The amount of chemicals stored in each laboratory should be limited to a short term supply (e.g., enough for one week or month). This supply by it s nature will be facility dependent. In order to allow for the storage of larger amounts of chemicals, a specifically designed area should be used. The size and building materials are specified in the OSHA Standards, NFPA 30, and NFPA 45. 

For the purpose of the OSHA PSM Standard, NFPA instability ratings have the following limitations with respect to identifying reactive hazards ... 

To support a GDC citation, OSHA must establish employer or industry recognition of a hazard. Among other forms of evidence, industry recognition may be demonstrated by a consensus standard (NFPA, American National Standards Institute [ANSI], American Petroleum Institute [API], American Society for Testing and Materials [ASTM], etc.). Industry standards may also be used to identify feasible means of reducing the hazard. However, no industry consensus standard has been identified for the management of reactive hazards in support of a GDC citation.43... 

The use of electrical equipment in hazardous areas is covered by the National Electrical Code, NEPA 70 (2006), National Fire Protection Association standards NFPA 496 (2003) and NEPA 497 (2004), and OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.307. The American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practices API RP 500 (2002) and API RP 505 (1997) should also be consulted. 

Recommendations on the fire precautions to be taken in the design of chemical plant are given in the standards NFPA 30 (2003), API RP 2001 (2005) and API PUBL 2218 (1999). Legal requirements for fire protection are given in the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910, subpart L (2007). 

Design codes and applicable standards (e.g., ANSI, NFPA, OSHA, ASME, ASTM, ISO)... 

OSHA s general industry electrical standards found in Subpart S 1910.301 through 1910.399, are based on the National Fire Protection Association s Standard NFPA 70E, Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces, and the National Electrical Code (NEC). In addition to general industry, they apply to shipyard employment, longshoring, and marine terminals. 

Throughout this book the regulatory regime is referred to as Labour Code , a translation of the French Code du Travail . All countries have national regulatory codes, some of which reflect wider imperatives (eg ED directories, ILO conventions, UN standards). In adddition, there are many technical and other codes of practice or procedure produced by national or international professional, technical and industrial organisations. Exampies of the former are the reguiatory codes of the HSE and The EA in the UK, and of OSHA and ERA in the USA and of the latter, the NFPA, which is referred to extensively in this book. 

In 1992, OSHA promulgated its Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard (29 CFR 1910.119). The standard covers processes containing individually listed chemicals that present a range of hazards, including reactivity, as well as a class of flammable chemicals. Reactive chemicals were selected from an existing list of chemicals identified and rated by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) because of their instability rating of "3" or "4" (on a scale of 0 to 4)4,5... 

NFPA Standard 49 9-on which the OSHA PSM-listed highly reactive chemicals are based-covers only 325 chemical substances, a very small percentage of the chemicals used in industry.10... 

The OSHA PSM Standard lists 137 highly hazardous chemi-cals-only 38 of which are considered highly reactive based on NFPA instability ratings of "3" or "4."... 

NFPA instability ratings are insufficient as the sole basis for determining coverage of reactive hazards in the OSHA PSM Standard. 

NFPA rates aluminum powder as 1 and sodium hydrosulfite as 2 for reactivity. Therefore, these chemicals are not included on the OSHA PSM list and are not regulated under that standard. The product of the mixture of aluminum powder and sodium hydrosulfite-a gold precipitation agent-is not rated by NFPA. However, a material safety data sheet (MSDS) on the chemical from the company contracting with Napp to produce the material gave it an NFPA rating of 3. ... 

The OSHA PSM Standard lists 131 distinct chemicals with toxic or reactive properties.40 It includes 25 chemicals with an NFPA rating of 3 and 13 chemicals with an NFPA rating of 4. PSM applies to processes that involve listed chemicals at or above threshold quantities and to processes with flammable liquids or gases onsite in one location, in quantities of 10,000 pounds or more. Companies that manufacture explosives and pyrotechnics are also required to comply with the standard. 

In its NEP, OSHA points out that for workplaces not covered by 1910.272, but where combustible dust hazards exist within dust control systems or other containers, citations under section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act (the General Duty Clause) may generally be issued for deflagration (fire) or explosion hazards. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards should be consulted to obtain evidence of hazard recognition and feasible abatement methods. Other standards are applicable to the combustible dust hazard. For example, if the workplace has a Class II location, then citations under 29 CFR 1910.307 may be issued to those employers having electrical equipment not meeting the standard s requirements. 

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