Page 18 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2017

INDUSTRY UPDATE
sider the need to maintain and modernize these structures.” In his testimony, Semonite pointed out the Corps of Engineers owns and operates only 715 dams (less than 1 percent of the 90,580 dams in the 2016 national inventory of dams, he said) and about 2,500 miles of levees (less than 10 percent of the roughly 30,000 miles now in the national levee inventory, he said). “Infrastructure de- signed and constructed for the conditions and practices of two gen- erations ago now delivers its benefits in an ever-changing world,” he added. “We know the infrastructure embeds the decisions and practices of the past in its construction, but what changes? Over time, all infrastructure ages and deteriorates, unless it is properly maintained and periodically rehabilitated. Our understanding of the frequency and intensity of hydrologic and seismic events also changes, as so the sizes of populations living and working near the infrastructure. Meanwhile, the practice of engineering and science leaps ahead. Also, consider that in the last six years, the national has experienced five flood events that exceeded a 1 in 1,000 chance of occurring.”
As the Oroville crisis eased, California Gov. Jerry Brown an- nounced a four-point plan to bolster dam safety and flood protec- tion in the state. He pledged to invest $437 million in near-term flood control and emergency response actions by redirecting $50 million from the General Fund and requesting a $387 million Proposition 1 appropriation from the Legislature as soon as possi- ble; require emergency action plans and flood inundation maps for all dams; enhance California’s existing dam inspection program;
and seek prompt regulatory action and increased funding from the federal government to improve dam safety.
Even with those actions, California has nearly $50 billion in unmet flood management infrastructure needs, he said, adding that his administration will continue to work with the Legisla- ture through the budget process on solutions, including potential changes to Proposition 218, which continues to prevent local gov- ernment from fixing core infrastructure, he said.
ASTM F23 Committee Agrees to
Remove ASTM F2302 Due to Misuse
The ASTM F2302 standard, Standard Performance Specification for Labeling Protective Clothing as Heat and Flame Resistant, has been withdrawn until such a time as the standard could ensure no unsafe products would meet minimum requirements.
The ASTM F2302 standard, Standard Performance Specifica- tion for Labeling Protective Clothing as Heat and Flame Resis- tant, was designed to be a minimum standard for labeling flame resistant garments. Originally intended for single-use garments or miscellaneous flame resistance needs with low-level exposures, the misuse of the standard has forced the committee to withdraw it until such a time as the standard could ensure no unsafe prod- ucts would meet minimum requirements, reports Hugh Hoagland, managing partner of e-Hazard Management LLC and president of ArcWear Inc. of Louisville, Ky.
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