NFPA 56

     In response to the Chemical Safety Board's recommendations the National Fire Protection Agency has acted expeditiously in writing a new standard to protect workers involved in purging fuel gas pipelines into and out of service. This action was spurred primarily by two natural gas explosions in which a total of 10 workers were killed, and in excess of 100 were injured. Those accidents were the Conagra facility in Raleigh North Carolina where a gas line being purged into service exploded on June 9th, 2009, and the Kleen Energy project in Connecticut where a high volume gas purge lead to an explosion on February 7th, 2010. The new standard will be available in August 2011 and has as some of its strength the use of inert gas purges, combustible gas detectors, proper training, and removing potential ignition sources from the work area. It also stresses the need for clearing the area of personnel not involved with the purge process and minimizing the amount of fuel gas released from the system.

The Chemical Safety Board and the National Fire Protection Association are to be commended for their valuable work in making the workplace safer for the working men and women of America!