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Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staff or any other individual, organization or agency considering the location of HUD-assisted projects near materials of an explosive or flammable nature. It contains the theoretical development plus the step by step procedures for determining the Acceptable Separation Distance (ASD) for a HUD-assisted project from a specific hazard source. The acceptable separation distance standards are found in the HUD Regulation at 24 CFR Part 51, Subpart C (paragraph 51.203). This report addresses primarily the ASD requirements for thermal radiation. Prior to this work, a calculation procedures for determining ASD was set forth in a 1982 HUD Guidebook entitled, Urban Development Siting with Respect to Hazardous Commercial/Industrial Facilities [1]. Much of the theoretical development for the 1982 guidebook is contained in a 1975 HUD Guidebook entitled Safety considerations in siting housing projects [2]. In the quarter century since these re-ports were released, the field of fire science has grown rapidly, leading to improved methods of measurement and prediction of fire behavior. A review by the Building and Fire Research Labo-ratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the 1975 HUD guidelines for thermal radiation flux has revealed that for certain fire scenarios the methodology can produc