Although they are enforced by different regulatory agencies, OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) and EPA’s Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions – also known as Risk Management Plan (RMP) – work in tandem to mitigate potentially catastrophic onsite and offsite incidents involving fires, explosions, and toxic vapor releases. From a regulatory standpoint, the PSM standard (29 CFR […]
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Storms and Safe Rooms and BARAs … Oh My!
Dorothy got swept up in a twister and transported to the land of Oz, but we all know we wouldn’t be so lucky. Watching the weather channel this time of year is enough to make anyone in a tornado-prone area consider building a safe place at their home. But we can’t all build a storm […]
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Life Safety Basics for Business and Industrial Occupancies (Part 2)
If you missed Part 1 of this article, which covered design and operating features, regulations, and assessment recommendations, check it out here. In Part 2, let’s take a deeper dive into eight key features of life safety for business and industrial occupancies that we commonly see in buildings: Number of Exits Travel Distances to Exits […]
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EPA Adds 1-bromopropane to Clean Air Act HAP List
Ever-changing regulations certainly keep engineers on their toes and companies scrambling to remain in compliance. The latest example is the addition of 1-bromopropane (1-BP), also known as nPB, to the Clean Air Act (CAA) List of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP). Which industries are impacted by 1-BP’s addition to the CAA HAP? The chemical is a […]
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Life Safety Basics for Business and Industrial Occupancies (Part 1)
“Life safety” refers to the design and operating features of a building that provide its occupants a reasonable level of safety during fires and other emergencies. It includes design features such as building construction type, compartmentation, fire alarms, fire protection (suppression) systems, exits, fire barriers, and more. It also includes operational elements such as fire […]
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