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National Construction Safety Team Act
The National Construction Safety Team Act (H.R. 4687), signed into law October 1, 2002, authorizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish investigative teams to assess building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of any building failure that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential of substantial loss of life. It provides the NIST with the responsibilities and authorities modeled on those of the National Transportation Safety Board, except for the investigation of building failures instead of aircraft accidents. The act gives the NIST the responsibility to dispatch teams of experts, where appropriate and practical, within 48 hours after major building disasters and specifically states that at least one member of each team must be a NIST employee. The act gives the teams a clear mandate to: # establish the likely technical cause of building failures; # evaluate the technical aspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Institute Of Standards And Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical science laboratory programs that include nanoscale science and technology, engineering, information technology, neutron research, material measurement, and physical measurement. From 1901 to 1988, the agency was named the National Bureau of Standards. History Background The Articles of Confederation, ratified by the colonies in 1781, provided: The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states—fixing the standards of weights and measures throughout the United States. Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, granted these powers to the new Congr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine accidents, pipeline incidents, bridge failures, and railroad accidents. The NTSB is also in charge of investigating cases of hazardous materials releases that occur during transportation. The agency is based in Washington, D.C. It has four regional offices, located in Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Ashburn, Virginia; and Seattle, Washington. The agency also operates a national training center at its Ashburn facility. History The origin of the NTSB was in the Air Commerce Act of 1926, which assigned the United States Department of Commerce responsibility for investigating domestic aviation accidents. Before the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA; at the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoenas: # ''subpoena ad testificandum'' orders a person to testify before the ordering authority or face punishment. The subpoena can also request the testimony to be given by phone or in person. # ''subpoena duces tecum'' orders a person or organization to bring physical evidence before the ordering authority or face punishment. This is often used for requests to mail copies of documents to requesting party or directly to court. Etymology The term ''subpoena'' is from the Middle English ''suppena'' and the Latin phrase ''sub poena'' meaning "under penalty". It is also spelled "subpena".See, e.g., ; ; ; and . The subpoena has its source in English common law and it is now used almost with universal application throughout the English co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collapse Of The World Trade Center
The collapse of the World Trade Center occurred during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, after the Twin Towers were struck by two hijacked commercial airliners. One World Trade Center (WTC 1, or the North Tower) was hit at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time and collapsed at 10:28 a.m. Two World Trade Center (WTC 2, or the South Tower) was hit at 9:03 a.m. and collapsed at 9:58 a.m. The resulting debris severely damaged or destroyed more than a dozen other adjacent and nearby structures, ultimately leading to the collapse of 7 World Trade Center at 5:21 p.m. A total of 2,763 people were killed in the crashes, fires, and subsequent collapses, including 2,192 civilians, 343 firefighters, and 71 law enforcement officers as well as all the passengers and crew on the airplanes, which included 147 civilians and the 10 hijackers. In September 2005, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the results of its investigation into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Station Nightclub Fire
The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlining band, Great White, which ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. It reached flashover within one minute, causing all combustible materials to burn. Intense black smoke engulfed the club within two minutes. Video footage of the fire shows its ignition, rapid growth, the billowing smoke that quickly made escape impossible, and blocked egress that further hindered evacuation. The toxic smoke, heat, and the resulting human rush toward the main exit killed 100; 230 were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. Many of the survivors developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the event. This fire was the fourth-deadliest at a nightclub in U.S. history, and the second-deadliest in New England, be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2011 Joplin Tornado
A devastating EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak, the tornado touched down just west of Joplin and intensified very quickly, reaching a maximum width of nearly during its path through the southern part of the city. The tornado tracked eastward through Joplin, and then continued across Interstate 44 into rural portions of Jasper and Newton counties, weakening before it dissipated. The tornado devastated a large portion of the city of Joplin, damaging nearly 8,000 buildings, and of those, destroying nearly 4,000. The damage—which included major facilities like one of Joplin's two hospitals as well as much of its basic infrastructure—amounted to a total of $2.8 billion, making the Joplin tornado the costliest single tornado in U.S. history. The insurance payout was the highest in Missouri history, with the previous record of $2 billion being the April 10, 2001 hail sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
