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Fire
Research
NIST to Investigate Rhode
Island Fire Under NCST
The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched
an investigation into the tragic fire of Feb. 20, 2003, at The Station
nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. The work is being conducted under
the authorities of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act.
NIST will lead a team of public and private-sector fire and safety
experts to carry out the investigation.
Under
the act, NIST is responsible for conducting fact-finding investigations
of building-related failures that result in substantial loss of life.
The teams primary objectives will be to:
-
determine the conditions in the nightclub prior to the fire, such
as the materials of construction and contents; the location and conditions
of doors, windows and ventilation; the installed fire protection systems;
the number of occupants and their approximate locations;
-
reconstruct the fire ignition, fire spread and survivability within
the building using computer models;
-
examine the impact on survivability of having an installed sprinkler
system, all other conditions being the same; and
-
analyze the emergency evacuation and occupant responses to better
understand the impediments to safe egress.
The
NIST investigation will be conducted in close cooperation with other
federal and private-sector agencies; and state and local fire and
law enforcement agencies. It could result in recommendations for specific
changes to building codes, standards and practices.
The
decision to launch the NIST investigation was made following an onsite
evaluation conducted Feb. 22-23, 2003, by two NIST fire researchers,
and discussions with other investigators on the scene in Rhode Island.
For
more on the NCST, go to www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/constructionact.htm.
Media
Contact:
Michael
E. Newman, (301) 975-3025
Budget
President
Approves FY 2003 Funds for NIST
On
Feb. 20, 2003, President Bush signed into law the fiscal year 2003
omnibus appropriation, which includes $707.5 million for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) after the 0.65 percent
rescission mandated by the legislation. The FY 2003 NIST appropriation
represents a 3.4 percent increase over the FY 2002 amount of $684.5
million, and provides funding to all of the agencys four major
programs.
Included
in the FY 2003 budget are three separate NIST appropriations: $357.1
million for Scientific and Technical Research and Services (including
$351.9 million for the NIST Laboratories and $5.2 million for the
Baldrige National Quality Program); $284.7 million for Industrial
Technology Services (including $178.8 million for the Advanced Technology
Program, or ATP, and $105.9 million for the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership, or MEP); and $65.7 million for Construction of Research
Facilities (including $22 million to address the highest priority
safety, capacity, maintenance and major repair projects required
to operate NISTs research facilities in Gaithersburg, Md.,
and Boulder, Colo.; $11 million for construction and renovation
projects at the Colorado laboratories; and $4 million for fitup
of the nearing-completion NIST Advanced Measurement Laboratory in
Gaithersburg, Md.).
Safety
NY Adopts NIST-Developed
ASTM Cigarette Fire Test
Starting
this July, New York will become the first state in the nation to require
that cigarettes sold in the state meet a standard that limits their
ability to start furniture or bed fires. The test method, issued by
ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society of Testing
and Materials) as ASTM E2187-02b, Standard Test Method for Measuring
the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes, was developed by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1993 as part of the
Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990.
Carelessly
dropped cigarettes are the largest single cause of fire deaths in
the United States. Each year, cigarette-initiated fires claim 800
lives, cause another 2,000 serious injuries, cause more than $250
million in property damage, and cost the U.S. economy nearly $5 billion.
ASTM
International recently presented the NIST Building and Fire Research
Laboratory (BFRL) team that developed the standardRichard Gann,
Thomas Ohlemiller, Emil Braun, Keith Eberhardt, J. Randall Lawson
and John Krasnywith its Simon H. Ingberg Award for the
original and comprehensive work in research, testing, and analysis
they performed to create the sound scientific basis for ASTM Standard
2187, Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes.
ASTM
Internationals standard test method is available at www.astm.org.
The NIST report, Test Methods for Quantifying the Propensity of
Cigarettes to Ignite Soft Furnishings (NIST Special Publication
851), is available at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs.
For further information on New Yorks new fire safety standard
for cigarettes, contact Theresa Smolen, (518) 486-9846, tsmolen@dos.state.ny.us.
Research
New Web Site
Showcases NISTs Big Efforts in Tiny Technology
Ever
smaller and ever faster. The pursuit of nanotechnologychips,
sensors, pumps, gears, lasers, novel materials and an unending assortment
of other useful things with features on the scale between
one-billionth of a meter (about 10 hydrogen atoms across) and 100-billionths
of a meteris driving science and engineering to extremes.
A
new Web site, www.nist.gov/nanotech,
details work under way at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), where research truly is pushing the limits of technology.
NIST scientists and engineers are building atom and electron counters,
single-photon turnstiles, ultracold ion and atom traps, and lasers
that generate uniform pulses of light that last only a few trillionths
of a second.
The
nanotechnology Web site explains how NISTs seven major laboratories
are developing measurements, standards and data crucial to private
industrys development of products for a nanotechnology market
that could reach $1 trillion during the next decade. Topics covered
on the Web site include: NIST and the National Nanotechnology Initiative;
fundamental science and basic measurement capabilities; characterization
of nanostructured materials; nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics
and magnetics; nanochemistry and nanobiotechnology; and quantum computing
and communications. Theres even a Whats Your Nano
IQ? quiz for visitors to take for fun.
A
separate Web site, www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/quantum.htm,
features a more in-depth look at NIST research on quantum information
systems.
For
more information on NISTs nanotechnology work, contact Barbara
Goldstein, (301) 975-2304, barbara.goldstein@nist.gov.
Gas and Liquid Wont
Mix? New NIST Device May Be the Answer
One
can broadly consider mixing as a process by which individual components
in a container are made homogeneous, such as blending whipped cream
and chocolate to make cake filling. Mixing in industry, however,
often can be more difficult. For example, mixing a gas into a liquid
traditionally has been a complicated procedure.
Now, National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientist Thomas J.
Bruno and technician Michael Rybowiak have developed a new device
to simplify this important process. A magnetically coupled entraining
(to carry along in a current) rotor, developed for a
measurement program in support of the gas industry, is the basis
for the innovation. Bruno and Rybowiak found that their rotor can
mix gas into liquids in a matter of seconds, whereas previous devices
often take hours.
The new mixer
has been used for chemical reactions and extractions, in addition
to the gas industry measurements. In one case, a postdoctoral associate
on the NIST research team, Wendy C. Andersen, used the device to
help extract heavy metals from water, an application with important
environmental implications.
The research
team will continue to develop new applications for the mixer. A
description of the mixer has been published (Fluid Phase Equilibria,
Vol. 178, pgs. 271-276, 2001), and Bruno and Rybowiak have a patent
pending on the device.
For more information,
contact Bruno at (303) 497-5158 or bruno@boulder.nist.gov.
NIST Says: Hug
a Weights and Measures Official in March!
Imagine
if every time consumers ran to the grocery store, stopped for
gasoline or bought new carpeting, they had to bring along their
own measuring devices to make certain that they got their fair
share for each purchase based on weight, volume or some other
quantity. That would affect about half of all consumer transactionsenough
to grind the $10 trillion US economy to a halt.
Thanks
to some 3,000 state and local weights and measures officials,
consumers and businesses are spared this major hassle. By checking
the accuracy of commercial weighing and measuring devices, these
professionals protect both sides in marketplace transactions.
They also help ensure that products and services sold by weight
or measure comply with federal, state and local laws.
To
acknowledge these contributions, March 1-7, 2003, has been designated
National Weights and Measures Week. The tribute marks the 204th
anniversary of the signing of the nations first weights
and measures law.
This
years theme is Weights and Measures - Working for
Integrity in the Marketplace.
The
work of the nations approximately 700 state and local weights
and measures jurisdictions underpin consumer confidence and marketplace
efficiency, says National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Director Arden Bement Jr. NIST provides technical assistance
to these offices, and it helps to promote state-to-state uniformity.
Even
tiny measurement inaccuracies can be tremendously costly. The
National Conference of Weights and Measures (NCWM), a professional
organization, estimates that an error of slightly more than 1
tablespoon per 5 gallons at the gas pump equals a charge of $125
million annually that, depending on the direction of the error,
is borne either by consumers or retailers.
Tips
for consumers and information on NISTs weights and measures
activities may be found at www.nist.gov/owm.
Media Contact:
Mark
Bello, (301) 975-3776
Editor: Michael E. Newman
Date created: 2/27/2003
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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