October 2018 Newsletter

The Marine Chemist Association held an Executive Board meeting in Chicago on September 30, 2019.
A summary of the meeting is provided below.

Your Executive Board met in Chicago at the end of September with all members in attendance. Some of the issues discussed are as follows.

General Information
The NFPA 312 (Standard for the Fire Protection of Vessels during Construction, Conversion, Repair and Lay Up) committee met recently. One public input comment was rejected on the use of fire wires in emergency situations. Several committee comments were accepted and posted for public comment. The Committee asked for industry input on the use of Salamanders and associated heaters. If you wish to view and comment on the proposals please visit the NFPA website and send in comments.

The NFPA 307 Committee on Marine Terminals and Wharves will met in Charleston on Tuesday, October 4th. The Committee will allowed the USCG to address issues and concerns it has with the standard. Once again, any comments on the standard may be made by going to the NFPA website.

The MCQB met on Oct 24/25 in Denver, CO. John Phillippe who is the independent Marine Chemist on the board attended his last meeting. The Committee will begin a search for a new independent chemist along with someone from insurance industry to replace outgoing members. The Committee will conduct a final review of the qualification requirements revision with an effective date of January 2019. The MCA and its members submitted several comments during the process which the committee reviewed and for the most part incorporated into the revision. Once the final revision is complete, it will be posted on the website.

At the recent meeting of the MCQB Franklin Li was certified as our newest Chemist CMC 738 Congratulations to Franklin

The Excom asked a question on medical fitness of chemists. Currently, a medical review is required every 5 years. Currently there is no requirement for trainees to have a physical exam to begin training. The board representative to the MCQB will inquire about having trainees take the medical exam prior to starting training.

Certificate Changes
Changes to both the paper certificates and the EMCC program have been implemented. The start of the paper certificates purchase and surcharge has gone well. Chemists not needing many certificates may borrow/buy certificates from other chemists. Once purchased they can be used by any certified chemist. The EMCC surcharge program has just started with its first surcharge starting during early November. Larry has sent out a reminder to remember to sync your computer frequently and especially at the end of the month. Syncing allows for an accurate surcharge. Any questions on the EMCC program should be addressed to Rick Sterling. (sterling.mca@gmail.com)

There is also a change to the reporting requirements, you no longer need to submit quarterly surcharge forms. You still need to submit monthly forms along with a copy of one certificate. The monthly form is located on the NFPA website. The details in the form may be changed to permit only the number of certificates issued to be reported instead of the individual certificate numbers. NFPA/MCQB will take the lead on any change. Forms can be found at the following NFPA site https://groups.nfpa.org/MC/SitePages/Home.aspx

A change to our bylaws was sent out to all members for voting through Election Buddy. All of the questions/ballots passed by an 80% or greater margin and have been incorporated into our bylaws. About 82% of the MCA members participated in the voting. Thanks to all who took the time to vote. Remember, you are the MCA and your participation is important.

A question was placed on the ballot about the best month for our annual seminar. A comment at our annual seminar business meeting requested that the board consider other times of the year for our annual seminar.