Update: Click here for the latest revision of NASA-STD-8719.12, which was updated in 2021.

NASA-STD-8719.12A, Safety Standard for Explosives, Propellants, and Pyrotechnics went into effect May 23, 2018. Although Revision A does not include many changes to specific policy requirements, it was a major update in that a lot of content was removed and rearranged.

“It was not written at the Headquarters level,” explained Sandy Hudson, Pyrotechnics and Explosives Safety program manager. “We had input from everyone, so it was a true collaboration and really is, hopefully, what is needed by everybody at all the centers.”

Updates included

• Removing requirements already covered in other policies — for example, fire code requirements — and replacing them with references to those other policies
• Removing requirements from an old Air Force standard that are not applicable to NASA
• Adding specific training requirements for Explosive Safety Officers and ordinance handlers

NASA-STD-8719.12 complements Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies, and as a result, Revision A went through OSHA for concurrence.

The Pyrotechnics and Explosives Safety program started participating in Institutional, Facility, Operational Safety Audits in 2013, which provided a lot of insight into how to best update the standard.

“That enabled us to really see how well the standard was working,” said Hudson. “We were able to tweak a lot of the standard and take out things, to reword the standard, to put in a few things, so it makes a lot more sense and is more relevant to how NASA operates.”

Contact Hudson with any questions.