In an effort to communicate the vital role that standards play in daily life, the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will publish, on an ongoing basis, a series of snapshots of the diverse standards initiatives undertaken in the global and national standards arena, many of which are performed by ANSI members and ANSI-accredited standards developers. Two of the latest selections follow:
Clean Floor Coverings
Properly maintaining and cleaning floors in homes, businesses, and other public places is vital in maintaining healthy conditions in the built environment. The Clean Trust recently released a revised American National Standard (ANS) that establishes minimum criteria for professional on-location cleaning of installed textile floor coverings.
ANSI/IICRC S100,
Standard Reference Guide for Professional On-Location Cleaning of Installed Textile Floor Covering Materials - 2011, acknowledges the critical role consumers themselves play in selecting and maintaining textile floor coverings even before turning to professional cleaning. Included in the document is information on the importance of pre-cleaning maintenance, the ways a consumer can evaluate a professional cleaner's qualifications, the basic principles of cleaning, and the necessity for thorough pre-cleaning and post-cleaning inspections. Standards for the application of each of the five common on-location cleaning methods are then outlined. The Clean Trust, formerly the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), is an ANSI accredited standards developer and organizational member committed to maintaining and improving the health, safety, and welfare of the built environment through standardization, certification, and advancements in communication, technical proficiency, and the science of cleaning and restoration.
Manure Storage
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that more than 335 million tons of waste is produced annually on farms in the United States, representing almost a third of all municipal and industrial waste produced every year. For perspective, one dairy cow secretes approximately 100 pounds of manure each day! At farms where animals graze in the pasture, much of their manure is excreted directly onto the land, serving as a fertilizer recycling nutrients back into the soil. But on many industrial farms, animals drop their manure in barns. From there it must be cleared out, transported, and stored. This process carries the risk of transmitting disease and emitting harmful gases that negatively affect humans and the environment.
In order to protect workers and the environment from hazards associated with manure storage, the
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has published
American National Standards InstituteASAE EP470.1 OCT2011,
Manure Storage Safety. The revised ANS reflects field research on worker safety and proper removal of waste from confined manure storage structures. Additional updates to the revised standard include information on confined space entry with references to a relatively new ASABE safety standard,
ANSI/ASABE S607 OCT2010,
Ventilating Manure Storages to Reduce Entry Risk. An ANSI accredited standards developer and organizational member, ASABE is an educational and scientific membership organization of agricultural, food, and biological engineers seeking to develop efficient and environmentally sensitive methods of producing food, fiber, timber, and renewable energy sources.
