CTA Report, Draft 1, ISP Review - US Chemical Safety and Hazard ...

APPENDIX D: NFPA Guidelines
In promoting the science and improving the methods of fire protection and prevention, NFPA develops
codes and standards to reduce the loss of life, property, and production. Table D-1 lists NFPA standards
relevant to controlling dust explosion hazards.
Although NFPA standards are advisory only, they are widely adopted by regulatory government agencies
such as OSHA and state and local public authorities. Upon request, NFPA provides training and ongoing
technical support to Federal, state, and local authorities that have adopted its codes and standards.
D.1 NFPA 654
NFPA 654, Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions From the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling
of Combustible Particulate Solids (2000), addresses dust explosion prevention and mitigation for
industrial facilities such as CTA. It was developed in 1943 and originally applied only to the prevention
of dust explosions in the plastics industry. In 1976, NFPA expanded the scope of the standard to include
chemical, dye, and pharmaceutical dusts, but a new edition of the standard was not issued until 1982. The
standard was revised again in 1997 to include all industries where manufacture, processing, blending,
repackaging, and handling of combustible dusts presented a fire or explosion hazard. NFPA 654
addresses safe design and construction, management of change, and housekeeping for facilities that
handle combustible dusts—specifying that “areas in which combustible dusts are produced, processed,
handled, or collected shall be detached, segregated, or separated from other occupancies in order to
minimize damage from a fire or explosion.” 28
28 NFPA 654 defines segregation as the interposing of a fire- and explosion-resistant barrier between the
combustible particulate solid process and other operations. Separation is defined as the interposing of distance
between the combustible particulate solid process and other operations in the same room.
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