AST Codes and Standards DevelopmentsNEWS & VIEWS TOC | PREVIOUSUSA-Rick Thornberry, President of the Code Consortium, Inc. is a professional fire-protection engineer and nationally-known code consultant. International Fire Code-The draft document for the IFC has just been published and distributed with significant positive direction for Protected Tank technology. Some of the preliminary discussions did not indicate that this ultimate finding would appear in the draft document. The September hearings in Las Vegas provided a last opportunity to state the case for inclusion of Protected Tank technology and ConVault, Inc. is pleased to report this was achieved. NFPA 30A Hearings-Last week, the NFPA 30A Committee met in Atlanta, GA and composed its recommendations as follow: Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. represented by Mrs. Shari Duzac was successful in introducing the following proposals: The Committee will be formally
recommending that the term "fire-resistant tanks" be replaced
in the code by the phrase "Protected Tanks." The Committee
reviewed design variations between UL 2085's Protected Tank requirements
and Fire-Resistant Tank requirements in forming its recommendation.
The Committee seeks a Tank which:
2) meets the existing UFC Appendix II-F internal tank temperatures of:
b) no single thermocouple temperature to exceed 400 degrees fahrenheit; 4) is subject to a ball impact test; 5) has MANDATORY secondary containment. The Committee felt that ballistics resistance and vehicle impact resistance was not a necessity. Due to the Committee's proposal, UL may opt to eliminate its proposed UL 2080 Fire-Resistant Standard, and have only one set of requirements for Protected Tank construction -- keeping the ballistics/vehicle impact tests as an option. Please note that these are recommendations from the NFPA 30A Committee and are subject to revision at a future date. That being said, this is a significant change in direction relative to insulated/fire-resistant tank references which previously utilized: a) an average temperature rise
of 800 degrees fahrenheit AND If adopted, those assemblies which formerly stated, "I'm UL 2085, too" will lose this option unless they have met the stringent Protected Tank criteria as previously-described. The Committee wanted language which will assure aboveground storage tanks, placed in closer proximity to buildings, property lines, and public ways, have a thermal insulating barrier. The NFPA 30A Code has allowed fire-resistant tanks to be placed at half the distance of a UL 142 tank. In addition, a fire-resistant tank could have a dispenser mounted directly atop the tank, UNLIKE A UL 142 TANK. Another controversial finding was that SouthWest Research Institute has listed non-insulated UL 142 tanks as fire-resistant tank constructions which met the performance criteria of NFPA 30A. The enforcement authorities, in particular, felt that a non-insulated, fire-resistant tank did not meet the original intention of the NFPA 30A code. The AHJs believed that they are permitting an insulated tank, when they approve a fire-resistant tank. At least one supplier of ASTs had received this SwRI listing. The NFPA 30A Committee also agreed to allow the NFPA 30 Committee to take future responsibility for ALL tank construction. They agreed to consolidate NFPA 30 (Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids), 30A (service stations and marinas), and 395 (farm and rural tanks less than 1100 gallons). The Committee is on a 4-year cycle as is NFPA 30. The next edition of NFPA 30 and 30A will be published in the year 2000. New proposals will still be accepted until early 1998. Uniform Fire Code-Rick Thornberry advises the ConVault network that a number of proposals have recently been submitted to the Code Committee, including: Item 3: "A secondary containment tank is a tank assembly consisting of a primary tank and an integral outer secondary containment means capable of being monitored for leakage."This allows clarification of a MidWest practice where unlisted primary tanks are accessorized by purchasing a UL-listed dike which is classified as secondary containment. The problem is that the dike is represented to the AHJ as reclassifying the entire assembly as a "secondary containment tank." Item 21: "All aboveground tanks, whether shop-built or field-erected shall be tested before they are placed in service....The ASME code stamp or the listing mark of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. affixed to a tank shall be evidence of a compliance with this test." The proposals will be reviewed on December 7-11, 1997 in Tucson, AZ.
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