St. Joseph, Mich.-Cautioning that delivery systems are becoming more complex and no guidelines exist for avoiding risks during operation, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) is moving ahead with a new safety standard for anhydrous ammonia application equipment. According to ASABE, general safety standards haven’t kept up with innovations such as integrated metering and distribution systems, automated control systems, automated hitching functions, and advanced flow functions, and the guidelines are needed to replace an international standard that had been withdrawn because it is now outdated. The issues that need to be addressed, reported ASABE, are the applicator distribution systems, electronic and mechanical metering and control systems, and implement-to-nurse tank hitching. Also included will be aspects of the nurse tank-to-applicator coupling and the delivery system that are not covered by other industry standards. ASABE is an educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems.
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