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National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
by Russell Hewett
On behalf of the DOE/NREL Hydrogen Program, Al Vasys and I had
a meeting with staff of the NFPA at their headquarters in Quincy,
MA on Thursday, November 29th. The objectives of the meeting
were to:
*Take the next steps in initiating discussions regarding possibilities
for conducting collaborative projects relating to hydrogen codes
and standards issues
*Identify specific collaborative projects that would result
in tangible products/results by the end of FY02
*Continue to look for opportunities for the Hydrogen Program
to participate in and support NFPA standards development activities
(e.g., by serving on standing committees and/or providing technical
support with respect to “validation” of proposed standards)
The topics addressed and the results were as follows:
1. NFPA’s Article for the NHA Newsletter
One of the ways to establish an ongoing NFPA/DOE/NREL/NHA working
relationship with respect to hydrogen codes and standards is
for NFPA to generate articles occasionally for the NHA newsletter.
Carl Rivkin agreed to write an article for the NHA’s Hydrogen
Safety Report newsletter. This article (NFPA's Hydrogen Standards,
December 2001 issue) describes NFPA’s hydrogen activities.
2. Generating an Article for the Newsletter of the International
Fire Marshals Association
Another means for facilitating an ongoing NFPA/DOE/NREL/NHA
working relationship is for the Program to seek opportunities
to familiarize fire safety officials with the hydrogen technologies
and codes and standards related issues through NFPA-related
organizations. The proposed mechanisms discussed were the newsletter
and the journal of the International Fire Marshals Association
(IFMA).
3. Tangible Products to Be Produced Collaboratively in FY02
We identified two projects on which to work collaboratively
and complete by the end of FY02. Both projects may result in
joint DOE/NFPA/NREL reports.
(a) “How to Permit a Hydrogen Facility Guidebook”
for code enforcement officials
This report would provide step-by-step permit review guidance
for code officials. It would begin by describing a “generic”
facility (e.g., refueling station) for which guidance would
be provided. The guidebook would show the applicable requirements
for the different components of the facility and give explanations
regarding their functions. Schematics and photographs would
be included to show how the components function, what they look
like and how the individual components come together to form
the system. While a refueling station is an obvious candidate,
the goal will be to select a generic facility that might be
faced by code and enforcement officials sooner than others.
(b) “Hydrogen Safety Analysis” Report
The objective of this report is to conduct a safety analysis
and identify the safety-related issues for a sample of operating
hydrogen projects of the type of system or facility to be addressed
in the "How to Permit a Hydrogen Facility Guidebook."
The information documented in this report would be the basis
for the “how-to-do-it” procedures covered in the Guidebook.
While the focus will be on conducting safety analyses on a sample
of hydrogen projects of the type to be covered in the Guidebook,
the effort could include analyzing and reporting on other types
of projects if resources are available.
4. Carl Rivkin’s Periodic Participation in Meetings
of the Program’s Codes & Standards Coordinating Committee
Al Vasys and I informed Mr. Rivkin about the Program’s
Codes & Standards Coordination Committee – a mechanism
for: (a) keeping abreast of what the various organizations conducting
hydrogen-related codes and standards are doing; (b) sharing
information; (c) identifying needs and; (d) preventing duplications
of efforts. Mr. Rivkin accepted our invitation to participate,
as appropriate, and to make presentations on NFPA hydrogen activities.
5. Possibility of Additional “Program” Representation
on NFPA’s Vehicular Alternative Fuel Systems Committee
(VAFSC) that is Updating NFPA52 and NFPA 57
Originally, the Program had asked to have two persons on
the VAFSC – Mike Swain and Brad Bates. Mike Swain was selected.
Currently, there is no person on the Committee with automobile
industry experience relating to fuel cell technology. Because
of Brad Bates’ expertise and experience in directing the
automobile fuel cell activity at Ford and the importance of
fuel cells as an alternative fuel, the Program thought it worthwhile
to continue to pursue Brad’s serving on the VAFSC. Carl
mentioned that the Committee will be working for several years
and there is significant membership turnover. He indicated there
may be an opportunity in the future to invite Brad to serve.
NFPA plans to have the VAFSC update NFPA 52 and NFPA 57 and
publish them separately for the last time in 2002. Then, they
plan to incorporate NFPA 57 into NFPA 52 and publish them as
one standard around 2004-2005.
6. Technical Support for NFPA to be Provided by Mike Swain
and Brad Bates
In addition to serving on NFPA’s Vehicular Alternative
Fuel Systems Committee, Mike Swain will be providing technical
support to NFPA’s standards development work. The Program
will also provide technical support to NFPA using Brad Bates.
NFPA’s action item is to send a letter to DOE verifying
that the specific proposed use of Brad in support of VAFSC standards
development activities is appropriate and needed. The Program
would cover the expenses associated with Brad’s participation.
7. Support for NFPA 853
NFPA 853 (“Standard for the Installation of Stationary
Fuel Cell Power Plants”) addresses systems 50 kW in size
and larger. NFPA is gearing up to modify the Standard to cover
smaller systems. In addition, the secretariat (Richard Bielen)
stated that the revised standard might also cover fuel cells
specifically for residences and portable systems. The action
items are for (a) NFPA to look for opportunities for Program
involvement (i.e., committee participation and/or technical
support) in this important activity; and (b) the Program to
identify persons to participate.
8. Use of NFPA 853 as a Basis for an ISO Standard
Mr. Rivkin confirmed that the decision to grant permission for
ISO to use an NFPA standard as the basis for an ISO standard
rests with NFPA’s legal department and the board of directors.
9. NFPA Meetings in which the Program Might Participate
Two NFPA-related functions in which the Program might participate
in order to conduct technology transfer efforts regarding hydrogen
technology and codes and standards were identified:
* NFPA’s annual World Fire Safety Conference
* Annual meeting of the International Fire Marshals’ Association.
The Program will look for opportunities to give presentations
and possibly “continuing education” seminars at these
forums.
10. DOT Emergency Response Guidebook
The DOT Emergency Response Guidebook is the “bible”
for use by emergency response teams in the initial phases of
responding to a dangerous goods/hazardous materials incident.
Unfortunately, hydrogen and hydrogen-fuel systems are not covered
specifically. For hydrogen, the Guidebook states “see the
section on Gases – Flammable.” I initiated discussion
with Mr. Rivkin regarding what the Program and NFPA might do
to get a section in the Guidebook that specifically covers hydrogen.
We will work on this in the course of conducting item (3) above.
11. Input for R&D Program Planning
With respect to NFPA standards that address (or will address)
hydrogen and hydrogen systems, NFPA agreed to generate a list
of issues and concerns pertaining to safety (e.g., offset distances,
ventilation air requirements, etc.) – for which R&D
might be conducted to generate the “right” numbers
or validate existing numbers. The objective is to identify issues
and concerns that could be addressed for future R&D program
planning.
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