NFPA Journal - Spring 2021 - 14

Dispatches Emerging Issues

W

ith 35 states now permitting
cannabis in some form, including 14 that have moved to fully legalize
the plant and its related products for
adult use, the NFPA Standards Council
is asking the public to weigh in on the
merits of developing a new standard to
help local officials regulate the industry.
A call went out in January asking inter-

ested stakeholders to provide comment
on whether such a standard is needed
and what information it could include.
Comments are being accepted through
March 31 at nfpa.org/cannabisfiresafety.
While it's too early to know if the
project will go forward, the council said
in its request that such a document
could include minimum safety requirements for cannabis facilities related to
growing, processing, extracting, and
testing. It could also set training and
skill requirements for workers in these
facilities, as well as for professionals

responsible for inspecting, testing, and
maintaining the equipment. Information
on marijuana growing, processing, and
extraction facilities was added to the
2018 edition of NFPA 1, Fire Code.
NFPA Journal has closely tracked the
burgeoning cannabis industry and has
published several articles, podcasts, and
videos detailing the related safety hazards as well as efforts in Colorado and
elsewhere to develop regulations and
procedures. Those materials and others
can be found at nfpa.org/cannabis.

estimated one million on the road now.
Along with those predictions have
come concerns over whether the safety
community is prepared for the boom.
In October, NFPA announced a
three-year project in partnership with
the US Department of Energy to bolster training and help communities
prepare for the safe adoption of widespread EV use. As part of the project,
NFPA will expand its already extensive online training modules for EV
safety to include programs targeted at
charging station
installers, code
EVs on the assemly line at Tesla. The number of electric
officials, utilities,
vehicles on the road is expected to increase sharply over
the next decade, raising an assortment of safety concerns.
manufacturers/
dealerships, fleet
owners, garages/
maintenance
facilities, insurance companies,
and vehicle
owners. Updates
will also be
made to NFPA's
existing alternative-fuel vehicle
safety training
programs for law
enforcement and
tow and salvage
operators. This is
in addition to the
free online training NFPA has
provided for first
responders on
alternative-fuel
vehicles for
nearly a decade.
As part of the
ANTICIPATING A BOOM, NFPA
new training effort, NFPA will also assist
PLANS TO EXPAND TRAINING
DOE in conducting 30 community preAND PREPAREDNESS FOR
paredness assessment workshops across
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
the US, events that will be designed to
help local officials implement safe prache issue isn't whether electric
tices and partnerships in anticipation
vehicle (EV) use will grow in the
of widespread EV adoption. The project
US-it's how much and how fast it will
is expected to be completed by October
grow, and whether the safety commu2023.
nity will be ready for it.
For more information about NFPA's
That's the assessment of many
electric and alternative fuel vehicles
experts, who believe there could be
safety training programs, visit nfpa.org/
more than 18 million EVs in the US
Training-and-Events/By-topic/Alternaby 2030-a staggering jump from the
tive-Fuel-Vehicle-Safety-Training.

T

GETT Y IMAGES

NFPA SEEKS INPUT
ON POTENTIAL CANNABIS
STANDARD

14 | NFPA JOURNAL * S P R I N G 2 0 2 1

Dispatches_Spring 2021 SJS APPROVED AS FINAL.indd 14

1/29/21 6:31 PM

http://www.nfpa.org/cannabis http://www.nfpa.org/cannabisfiresafety http://www.nfpa.org/Training-and-Events/By-topic/Alternative-Fuel-Vehicle-Safety-Training http://www.nfpa.org/Training-and-Events/By-topic/Alternative-Fuel-Vehicle-Safety-Training http://www.nfpa.org/Training-and-Events/By-topic/Alternative-Fuel-Vehicle-Safety-Training

NFPA Journal - Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2021