On Sat, 20 Feb 2010, valdis.kletni...@vt.edu wrote:
(WTF quote that just went by - "Hospitals have backup diesel generators, but
only 6-12 hours of fuel". I certainly hope that number is suffering from
pulled-from-orifice syndrome. Heck - *our* day tank has 36 hours of diesel in
it because "power out for 48-72 hours due to ice storm" is a realistic threat
around here.
The standards have been changing. As always, please consult with a
professional engineer licensed in your jurisdiction. Depending on the
type of medical facility, it may now require up to 96 hours of backup.
Although most medical care facilities are probably in the 24 or 72 hour
range.
At the upper operational limit, its a dry tank. You probably need to
start worrying about escorting fuel trucks through the disaster area
before the tanks run dry. It also assumes all medical facilites had
the money to upgrade backup capacity and topped-off their tanks.
See the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Organizations and
the National Fire Protection Association standards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/weekinreview/03fink.html
But systems that meet those standards are .not always sufficient. in
major catastrophes, according to a warning issued after Katrina by the
organization that accredits most American hospitals, the Joint
Commission. National electrical standards for hospitals were
traditionally oriented toward maintaining electricity during common,
brief local power outages, not prolonged emergencies.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14423862
"We've had power outages before in parts of the city," City Manager
James Keene said. "But to have essentially the entire city without
power from 8 in the morning to 6 at night, the impact that was having
on businesses and critical services like Stanford Hospital, and all our
traffic lights being out . you think about all the bad things and
problems that could have unfolded over the course of the day. We really
avoided most of those."
