Standard for Safety for Fuel Tank Accessories for Flammable and Combustible Liquids

Note: The title and scope for this NOI was updated by the responsible SDO on March2 ,2021 (originally published July 14, 2020)

1.1    These requirements cover mechanical type accessories that are typically intended for attachment to storage tanks or connecting pipe for flammable and combustible liquids in commercial (public) or private (fleet) automotive fueling station and similar storage or dispensing applications and are designed to provide automatic safety or operational functions.

1.2    These products may be used with underground or aboveground tank systems and with liquid and/or vapor phases of the fuels and similar fuels or liquids covered by each Part of this Standard as identified below:

a.    Part I Vapor Control Products – applies to functional devices and accessories intended for connection to tank top openings (directly on fittings or indirectly on pipe) and perform safety or operational functions in vapor spaces, such as emergency vents, normal vents, interstitial vacuum/e-vent plugs, adapters and caps.

b.    Part II Liquid Control Products – applies to functional devices and accessories intended for connection to tank top openings (directly on fittings or indirectly on pipe) and perform safety or operational functions in liquid spaces, such as spill containment devices, overfill prevention devices, , and liquid level gauges.

c.    Part III Structural and Containment Products (reserved for future use) – applies to metallic components such as access devices, manways, supports, and dikes.

d.    Part IV Corrosion Protection Products (reserved for future use) – applies to nonmetallic components such as tank anchors, dielectric bushings, anode packs, coatings and resins.

e.    Part V Miscellaneous Products – applies to devices and accessories such as portable/mobile tank spill prevention devices, lift lugs, striker plates and monitor well caps.

1.3    These products are intended for use with storage tanks or fueling systems containing automotive fuels and similar fuels or liquids under the expected use conditions and exposures that have similar chemical, physical and material compatibility properties as represented in these requirements. The applicable fuels are intended to be formulated as:

a)    Petroleum products, including petroleum hydrocarbon fuels with low-biofuels blends, and similar flammable or combustible liquid petroleum derivatives, such as fuel components (cetane, hexane, heptane), and oils (lubricating, hydraulic, machine);
b)    Oxygenated fuel blends, including all “petroleum product” liquids plus petroleum hydrocarbon fuels with low-biofuels blends;
c)    Oxygenates, including all “petroleum product” and “oxygenated fuel blends” liquids plus pure/denatured or highest oxygenated blend stocks for use in mixing of dispensed lower fuel-blends and components, such as biodiesel and ethanol; and
d)    Other flammable and combustible liquids (for which the test fuels in Annex A are not considered to be sufficient or applicable) that can be demonstrated or determined to be compatible with the accessory materials as determined by the certifier.

1.4    Products covered by this Standard are intended to be installed and used in accordance with the applicable documents in the following list:

a)    In the United States:
1)    NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code;
2)    NFPA 30A, Code for Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities and Garages;
3)    NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code;
4)    International Fire Code published by the International Fire Council; or
5)    Other Applicable Federal and State regulations for the specific product or application it is being utilized in, such as DOT for portable/mobile tanks.

b)     In Canada:
1)    National Fire Code of Canada;
2)    CAN/CSA-B139, Installation code for oil-burning equipment;
3)    CCME PN1326, Environmental Code of Practice for Aboveground and Underground Storage Tank Systems Containing Petroleum and Allied Petroleum Products; and
4)    Regulation of the authority having jurisdiction.

1.5    These products are factory manufactured and intended for in-shop or on-site assembly, inspection and testing for the specified application and use conditions by qualified persons in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and local requirements.

1.6    Requirements for use in hazardous locations are also provided for any electrical devices and components that form part of the accessory(ies).

1.7    These products are intended to be periodically inspected and maintained for continued service, or taken out of service if necessary, by qualified persons in accordance with industry recommended practices and/or the manufacturer’s instructions.

1.8    These requirements do not address use of the accessories after natural disasters, fires or exposures to chemicals not representative of the test liquids/vapors or excessive physical damage beyond the expected assembly, installation and uses as identified in these requirements.

1.9    These requirements do not address special applications where the accessories are exposed to heavy or continuous physical abuses, excessive mechanical stresses, or environments that operate outside of the expected atmospheric conditions and ambient use temperature range.

1.10    Emergency vent (E-vent) and Pressure/Vacuum vent (P/V-vent) requirements do not cover flame arrester features. The applicable requirements are found in the Standard for Flame Arresters, UL 525, but may optionally be addressed by EPA 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart CCCCCC, CARB (CP-201), CCME PN1184, Environmental Code of Practice for Vapour Recovery During Vehicle Refueling at Service Stations and Other Gasoline Dispensing Facilities, or other air quality regulations at the request of the manufacturer.

1.11    The requirements for Flow Restrictors and Overfill Preventers do not cover any general-purpose manual or automatic safety valves. The applicable requirements are found in UL/ULC 842, UL 842A and UL 842B. Requirements for combustible liquid only rated devices are found in UL/ULC 180.

1.12    The requirements for Spill Containers are intended for aboveground tank applications and do not cover long term fuel exposures or use as a tank sump for underground or below-grade applications, which are found in UL 2447 and CAN/ULC-S664.

1.13    Communication requirements, for characteristics such as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electromagnetic interference (EMI) including regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Industry Canada for wired or wireless options are not covered under this Standard.