NFPA approves amendment prohibiting indoor gas purging
The National Fire Protection Association last week approved an emergency code change (.pdf file) prohibiting indoor gas purging of certain industrial gas lines.
The change, known as a Tentative Interim Amendment, is designed to require outdoor purging for industrial, large commercial and large multifamily buildings, according to a statement from Chemical Safety Board member John Bresland.
The new provisions are similar to those adopted by ConAgra Foods and the state of North Carolina following the fatal 2009 natural gas explosion at a Slim Jim manufacturing plant in Garner, NC.
Bresland urged Quincy, MA-based NFPA to make a prohibition on indoor purging and other related safeguards a permanent part of the National Fuel Gas Code.
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)