Chapter 23
Life Safety Code and Material Safety Data Sheets
Abstract
In this chapter, students are introduced to the definition and significance of a material safety data sheet. They learn who the data sheet mostly pertains to and how to acquire a material safety data sheet. Finally, security officers learn the regulations and government involvement (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) surrounding this data. In addition, student learn the purpose of the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code and how it impacts security and safety for workers and visitors.
Keywords
EPA; Hazard of contents; Means of egress; MSDS; Occupancy; OSHAThis chapter concerns itself with two types of publications that provide important information about safety, The Life Safety Code Handbook and Material Data Safety Sheets. The purpose in reviewing this information is merely to provide a basis for security personnel in understanding the complexities of mandated safety precautions and requirements. Knowledge of the pertinent information in these publications can be a great asset for security personnel.
National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code Handbook
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 2006) publishes the Life Safety Code Handbook, which is considered to be the foremost publication on life safety in the United States. These standards were developed by a broad range of representative experts, including architects, engineers, building owners, insurers, building product manufacturers, safety and fire officials, etc.
The standards/requirements in this book are not mandated code requirements unless they are officially sanctioned by an authority having jurisdiction, such as local or state building and fire codes, etc.
A security officer possessing a working knowledge of the related life safety code compliance issues substantially increases his or her value to an organization in observing and reporting life safety deficiencies, especially in a hospital environment.
Fundamental requirements of the life safety code
Chapter 2 of the Life Safety Code Handbook outlines the purpose of this code. Maintaining compliance of the numerous requirements ensures a reasonable level of life safety in building design and arrangement. Simply stated, as referenced in the code, these requirements include the following:
1. To provide for adequate safety (exits and other safeguards) without dependence on any single safeguard
2. To ensure that construction is sufficient to provide structural integrity during a fire while occupants are exiting
3. To provide an appropriate degree of life safety considering the size, shape, and nature of the occupancy
4. To ensure that the exits are clear, unobstructed, and unlocked
5. To ensure that the exits and routes of escape are clearly marked so that there is no confusion in reaching an exit
6. To provide adequate lighting
7. To ensure prompt occupant response by providing early warning for fire
8. To provide for backup or redundant exit arrangements
Classification of occupancies
Occupancy classifications in this code include the following:
• Assembly: Occupancies that generally house large groups of people who are generally unfamiliar with the space and therefore subject to indecision regarding the best means of egress in an emergency. Generally 50 or more people. It can be an entire building or a portion there of. Examples include the following:
• Armories
• Assembly halls
• Auditoriums
• Bowling alleys
• Churches
• College classrooms
• Conference rooms
• Courtrooms
• Dance hall
• Bars
• Exhibition halls
• Gyms
• Libraries
• Mortuary chapels
• Theaters
• Museums
• Terminals
• Pool rooms
• Recreation piers
• Restaurants
• Educational: Buildings used for school purposes by six or more people. Generally pertains to preschool through 12th grade. Examples include the following:
• Academies
• Nursery schools
• Kindergartens
• Schools
• Health care: Facilities used for overnight medical care and/or treatment of four or more occupants. Examples include the following:
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Limited-care facilities
• Detention/correction facilities: Facilities used for the overnight housing of prisoners. Examples include the following:
• Adult correction
• Adult local detention
• Parole facilities
• Work camps
• Juvenile detention
• Juvenile training
• Juvenile residential facilities
• Substance abuse centers
• Residential: Facilities used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations and residential use. Examples include the following:
• Hotels
• Motels
• Dormitories
• Apartments
• Lodging houses
• One- or two-family dwellings
• Boarding houses
• Sleeping rooms
• Mercantile: Facilities used to buy and sell merchandise or services. Examples include the following:
• Auction rooms
• Department stores
• Pharmacies
• Supermarkets
• Shopping centers
• Specialty shops
• Business: Facilities used for the transaction of business other than those specified by mercantile. Examples include the following:
• City halls
• College buildings
• Town halls
• Courthouses
• Doctor’s offices
• Dentist’s offices
• General offices
• Industrial: Facilities used for factories, processing, assembling, mixing, packaging, finishing, decorating, repairing, etc. Examples include the following:
• Dry cleaning
• Factories of all kinds
• Food processing
• Laundries
• Utility plants
• Refineries
• Sawmills
• Hangars
• Storage: Facilities and structures used for the storage and sheltering of goods, merchandise, products, vehicles, animals, etc. Examples include the following:
• Barns
• Bulk oil storage
• Freight terminals
• Stables
• Parking structures
• Warehouses
• Grain elevators
• Cold storage
Hazard of contents
For the purpose of this code, the hazard of contents relates to the relative danger of fire, smoke, explosion, etc. that could potentially endanger the lives and safety of the occupants of a building or structure.
The hazard of contents, as defined by the NFPA Life Safety Code Handbook, is the relative danger of the start and spread of fire, the danger of smoke or gas generation, and the danger of explosion of other occurrence potentially endangering the lives and safety of the occupants of the building or structure.
Hazard of contents is determined on the basis of the character of the contents and the processes or operations conducted in the building or structure.
Where different degrees of hazard of contents exists in different parts of a building or structure, the more hazardous situation will govern the classification. Hazardous areas include, but are not limited to, areas for general storage, boiler or furnace rooms, fuel storage, chemical storage, janitor closets, maintenance shops (including woodworking and painting areas), and kitchens.
The hazards of contents are grouped three ways: low, moderate, and high:
Low hazard: Low hazard contents are classified as those of such low combustibility that no self-starting fire can occur.
Ordinary hazard: Ordinary hazard contents are classified as those that are likely to burn with moderate speed or to give off a considerable volume of smoke.
High hazard: High hazard contents are classified as those that are likely to burn with extreme speed or from which explosions are likely.
Means of egress
Chapter 2 of the Life Safety Code Handbook also addresses specific requirements related to means of egress or exit. Issues covered in this chapter include arrangement of exits; travel distances to exits; marking of exits; technical specifications, such as height of handrail, width of exit, and height of stair step, etc.; illumination, special locking mechanisms; obstructions, etc.
Features of fire protection
This chapter specifies the basic requirements for fire protection. Issues covered in this chapter include fire resistance requirements, smoke barriers, fire barriers, interior finish requirements etc. (see Chapter 22).
Building service and fire protection equipment
This chapter contains many cross-references to other specific codes.
Issues covered include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; smoke control; elevators, escalators, and conveyors; fire detection, alarms, communication systems, sprinklers, and other extinguishment systems, etc.
It should be understood that the real precise requirements for such systems are included in other NFPA materials.
Material safety data sheets
A material safety data sheet (MSDS) is designed to provide both workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance. MSDS’s include information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point etc.), toxicity (degree of harmfulness), health effects, first aid, reactivity (how it reacts with other substances), storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill/leak procedures. These are of particular use if a spill or other accident occurs.
Who are MSDSs for?
MSDSs are meant for:
1. Employees who may be occupationally exposed to a hazard at work.
2. Employers who need to know the proper methods for storage, etc.
3. Emergency responders such as firefighters, hazardous material crews, emergency medical technicians, and emergency room personnel.
MSDSs are not meant for consumers
An MSDS reflects the hazards of working with the material in an occupational fashion. For example, an MSDS for paint is not highly pertinent to someone who uses a can of paint once a year, but it is extremely important to someone who does this in a confined space for 40 h a week.
Obtaining MSDSs
There are several places you can get MSDSs:
1. Your laboratory or workplace should have a collection of MSDSs that came with the hazardous chemicals you have ordered. Do not throw them away!
2. Most universities and businesses have a collection somewhere on site. Check with your environmental or occupational health office or science librarian. Some organizations use commercial services to obtain printed, faxed, or online copies of MSDSs.
3. You can get them from the distributor that sold you the material. If you cannot find them, then contact the manufacturer’s customer service department.
Agencies or regulations requiring MSDSs
Occupational safety and health administration
The U.S. Government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for the Hazard Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200. The purpose of this standard is “to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are evaluated, and that information concerning their hazards is transmitted to employers and employees. This transmittal of information is to be accomplished by means of comprehensive hazard communication programs, which are to include container labeling and other forms of warning, material safety data sheets and employee training.”
The Hazard Communication Standard specifies the required elements that must be on an MSDS among other important data.
Environmental protection agency
Other regulations address MSDSs as well. For example, the U.S. Government’s Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Community Right to Know Law (SARA Title III) is another set of regulations you will want to consult.
State and local agencies
Many state laws may require or govern the content of MSDSs. Some of these are state right-to-know laws. There are so many of these that we cannot even begin to list them here!
If you are uncertain as to which laws apply to your site, ask your supervisor. If they do not know, ask them to contact both your state and federal EPA and OSHA compliance (not enforcement!) offices.
Summary
• The Life Safety Code Handbook is published by the National Fire Protection Association and is considered the nation’s foremost publication on life safety.
• The standards set forth in the NFPA handbook are not mandated unless officially sanctioned by an authority having jurisdiction, such as local or state codes.
• The Life Safety Code concerns itself with issues such as adequate exits, lighting, occupancy levels, and fire safety standards.
• Material Safety Data Sheets are designed to provide both workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance.
• An MSDS reflects the hazards of working with the material in an occupational fashion, but it can be of importance to emergency responders such as firefighters, hazardous material crews, emergency medical technicians, and emergency room personnel.
Exercises
1. How are safe occupancy levels and the number and location of means of egress related to the safety of personnel and the public in your place of employment?
2. How are the concepts of hazard of contents and the information in material safety data sheets potentially related?
3. How can having a working knowledge of the Life Safety Code Handbook and material safety data sheets contribute to the value security personnel add to their workplace?
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