Recent Blog Posts

IIAR Achieves a Mechanical Code Milestone

October 13th, 2020

On March 6, 2020, the International Code Council published the 2021 edition of the International Mechanical Code (IMC). 2021 IMC includes a noteworthy change that all ammonia refrigeration industry stakeholders should celebrate. Instead of including prescriptive requirements for ammonia refrigeration systems in Chapter 11, as previous editions had done, §1101.1.2 now requires that “Refrigeration systems […]

Valve Exercising and IIAR 6

September 29th, 2020

Ammonia refrigeration systems are typically configured with hundreds of valves that require maintenance to help ensure that they will function properly when adjusted from their normal position. ANSI/IIAR 6-2019 Standard for Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Closed-Circuit Ammonia Refrigeration Systems includes the minimum requirements for valve inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) in Table 11.1.6. Concerning […]

Differences Between IIAR Standards 2 and 9

September 15th, 2020

Earlier this year, IIAR published ANSI/IIAR 9-2020 Standard for Minimum System Safety Requirements for Existing Closed-Circuit Ammonia Refrigeration Systems. While it has long been recognized that new systems must adhere to the requirements of IIAR Standards 2 and 4, facilities with existing systems have often been confused on how they should relate to these standards. […]

Final RMP Rule Changes

September 1st, 2020

Rule Changing Background In 2017, several RMP rule changes were proposed, which we previously covered. On November 20, 2019, the EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed the final Risk Management Program Reconsideration final rule. The EPA says this about the change: “[It] modifies and improves the existing rule to remove burdensome, costly, unnecessary amendments while maintaining […]

New Release Notification Requirement to the Chemical Safety Board

August 18th, 2020

There is a new release notification requirement for hazardous substances. The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is adding their name to the list of agencies who may need to be notified in the event of a release. Unfortunately, the criteria and notification methods are different for this agency. Here is the short explanation of the CSB […]