California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety › Subchapter 4 - Construction Safety Orders › Article 32 - Oxygen, Acetylene, and Fuel Gas › Section 1740 - Storage and Use of Cylinders

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) All gas cylinders shall be protected
					 against undue absorption of heat.
(b) Acetylene and Fuel gas cylinders,
					 including but not limited to welding and cutting fuel gas cylinders, shall be
					 stored and used with the valve end up.
EXCEPTION: Fuel gas cylinders containing fuel gas used to
						power industrial trucks regulated by Article 25 of the General Industry Safety
						Orders.
Cylinders containing oxygen, acetylene or fuel-gases
						shall not be taken into confined spaces.
(c) Gas cylinders in portable service shall
					 be conveyed by suitable hand trucks to which they are securely fastened, or
					 safely carried where job conditions require. All gas cylinders in service shall
					 be securely held in substantial fixed or portable racks, or placed so they will
					 not fall or be knocked over.
Valve protection caps, when provided for, shall be put in
						place before cylinders are moved, transported or stored.
(d) Gas cylinders raised or lowered by crane,
					 hoist, or derrick must be handled in suitable cradles, nets, or skip boxes, and
					 shall never be lifted by magnet or by rope or chain slings.
(e) Cylinders must not be placed where they
					 might form a part of any electric circuit.
(f) No attempt shall be made to transfer
					 acetylene from one cylinder to another, or to mix gases in a
					 cylinder.
(g) Oxygen cylinders in
					 storage shall be separated from fuel-gas cylinders or combustible materials
					 (especially oil or grease), a minimum distance of 20 feet or by a
					 noncombustible barrier at least 5 feet high having a fire-resistance rating of
					 at least one-half hour.
(h)
					 Cylinders shall be kept far enough away from the actual welding or cutting
					 operation so that sparks, hot slag, or flame will not reach them. When this is
					 impractical, fire resistant shields shall be provided.
(i) LP-Gas vessels used for roofer's tar
					 pots, plumber's pots and torches, space heaters, etc., shall be so installed
					 that heat from the burner will not increase the temperature of the tank more
					 than 10 degrees Fahrenheit after one hour of operation of the burner at full
					 capacity.
(j) LP-Gas vessels
					 installed on mobile equipment shall have the bottom of the container, and/or
					 any outlet connection, not lower than the lowest horizontal edge of the vehicle
					 axle when fully loaded. Such units shall be adequately secured to prevent
					 jarring loose, slipping, or rotating.
(k) Use of Fuel Gas.
(1) The employer shall instruct employees in
					 the safe use of fuel gas.
(2)
					 Before a regulator to a cylinder valve is connected, the valve shall be opened
					 slightly and closed immediately. (This action is generally termed "cracking"
					 and is intended to clear the valve of dust or dirt that might otherwise enter
					 the regulator.)
(3) The person
					 cracking the valve shall stand to one side of the outlet, not in front of it.
					 The valve of a fuel gas cylinder shall not be cracked where the gas would reach
					 welding work, sparks, flame, or other possible sources of
					 ignition.