Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Reston, Va.― The American Society of Civil Engineers today announced it will conduct a public comment period on the new professional standard, Blast Protection of Buildings. The public comment period will be held from December 1, 2010 through January 15, 2011.
This voluntary standard provides minimum planning, design, construction and assessment requirements for new and existing buildings subject to the effects of accidental or malicious explosions. It includes principles for establishing appropriate threat parameters, levels of protection, loadings, analysis methodologies, materials, detailing and test procedures. However, this standard is not applicable for the mitigation of potential accidents involving ammunition or explosives during their development, manufacturing, testing, production, transportation, handling, storage, maintenance, modification, inspection demilitarization or disposal.
This standard is intended to supplement, not supersede the requirements of the governing building code and other applicable laws and standards. The omission of specific material or system does not necessarily preclude its use in accordance with this standard, as long as all applicable provisions are satisfied. This standard does not prescribe requirements or guidelines for the mitigation of progressive collapse or other potential post-blast behavior.
To participate in the public comment period, contact Lee Kusek, ASCE Codes & Standards Administrator at lkusek@asce.org or 703-295-6176. For more information on this standard or ASCE’s standards program, please contact Leikny Johnson at ljohnson@asce.org or 703-295-6413.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
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