ANSI Welcomes NFPA as Diamond Sponsor for Electric Vehicles Workshop

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American National Standards Institute

Feb 01, 2011, 10:22 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to welcome the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as a Diamond Sponsor of the ANSI Workshop: Standards and Codes for Electric Drive Vehicles taking place April 5–6, 2011, in Bethesda, Maryland.

The workshop, convened by ANSI on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Idaho National Laboratory, will explore current and needed standards, codes, and conformity assessment programs that will help drive the market for grid-connected electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and support services.

"We are delighted to have NFPA as a sponsor of the ANSI workshop, particularly given their demonstrated leadership in promoting electric vehicle safety," commented Jim McCabe, ANSI senior director of consumer relations.

NFPA 70 ®, the National Electrical Code®, has been adopted for regulatory use throughout the United States. The 2011 edition includes updates to Article 625 Electric Vehicle Charging Systems on safe battery charging for electric vehicles that reduce the risk of explosion. With support from DOE, NFPA is also conducting nationwide training for firefighters and other first responders on how to deal with emergency response situations involving electric vehicles. NFPA and partner SAE International recently released a summary report of a U.S. National Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit convened last year on safety codes and standards issues relating to electric vehicles, built infrastructure, and emergency responders.

"NFPA is pleased to join with ANSI and DOE for this important workshop. Through the National Electrical Code and NFPA's EV Safety Training Program, NFPA continues to support efforts to advance the use of electric vehicles," said Christian Dubay, chief engineer at NFPA. "This event will bring further clarity on what codes and standards are needed to fill gaps and what modifications to existing standards are necessary to support the safe and rapid distribution of electric vehicles across the country."

For program and other information about the upcoming ANSI workshop, please see www.ansi.org/edv.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

About NFPA

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international non-profit organization is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute