It is a very good thing to have a more accurate method of projecting the effects of natural disasters on communities and their buildings.
State panel gives hospitals a break on seismic safety
Adoption of new tool will delay retrofit deadline for many.
By Gilbert Chan - gchan@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, November 15, 2007
In a move expected to keep the doors open at hundreds of medical buildings in the coming years, a key state panel Wednesday adopted a new high-tech tool aimed at reassessing the seismic safety of California hospitals.
Members of the California Building Standards Commission said the emergency regulations will give the state a better picture of hospital structures most at risk of collapsing during a strong earthquake and allow operators to save billions of dollars in construction costs in the near future.
"What we're doing is paying attention to the ones that really need paying attention to," said Rosario Marin, commission chairwoman and secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency.
Currently, 1,100 hospital buildings fall into the high-risk category and must be retrofitted or shut by a state-imposed 2013 deadline. The rankings were based on a decade-old method.
The new tool "corrects a very significant overstatement of the seismic risks to hospital buildings in California," said Bob Eisenman, public policy director for Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente.
