California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety › Subchapter 5 - Electrical Safety Orders › Group 1 - Low-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders › Article 59 - Hazardous (Classified) Locations › Section 2540.5 - Commercial Garages, Repair and Storage

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Scope. These occupancies shall include
						locations used for service and repair operations in connection with
						self-propelled vehicles (including passenger automobiles, buses, trucks,
						tractors, etc.) in which volatile flammable liquids are used for fuel or power.
						Areas in which flammable fuel is transferred to vehicle fuel tanks shall
						conform to Section
						2540.8. Parking garages used for
						parking or storage and where no repair work is done except exchange of parts
						and routine maintenance requiring no use of electrical equipment, open flames,
						welding, or the use of volatile flammable liquids are not classified as
						hazardous areas, but they shall be adequately ventilated to carry off the
						exhaust fumes of the engines.
(Title 24, Part 3, Section
						  511-1.)
(b) Hazardous Areas.
(1) Up to a Level of 18 Inches Above the
						Floor. For each floor the entire area up to a level of 18 inches above the
						floor shall be considered to be a Class I, Division 2 location except where
						there is mechanical ventilation providing a minimum of four air changes per
						hour.
(2) Any Pit or Depression
						Below Floor Level. Any pit or depression below floor level shall be considered
						to be a Class I, Division 1 location which shall extend up to said floor level,
						except that any pit or depression in which six air changes per hour are
						exhausted at the floor level of the pit shall be permitted to be a Class I,
						Division 2 location.
(3) Areas
						Adjacent to Defined Locations with Positive Pressure Ventilation. Areas
						adjacent to defined locations in which hazardous vapors are not likely to be
						released such as stock rooms, switchboard rooms and other similar locations
						shall not be classed as hazardous when mechanically ventilated at a rate of
						four or more air changes per hour or when effectively cut off by walls or
						partitions.
(4) Adjacent Areas by
						Special Permission. Adjacent areas which, by reason of ventilation, air
						pressure differentials or physical spacing, are such that no hazard exists,
						shall be classified as nonhazardous.
(5) Fuel Dispensing Units. When fuel
						dispensing units (other than liquid petroleum gas which is prohibited) are
						located within buildings, the requirements of Section
						2540.8 shall govern. When
						mechanical ventilation is provided in the dispensing area, the controls shall
						be interlocked so that the dispenser cannot operate without ventilation as
						prescribed in Section
						2540.1(a)(2).
(6) Portable Lamps. Portable lamps shall be
						equipped with handle, lampholder, hook and substantial guard attached to the
						lampholder or handle. All exterior surfaces which might come in contact with
						battery terminals, wiring terminals, or other objects shall be of nonconducting
						material or shall be effectively protected with insulation. Lampholders shall
						be of unswitched type and shall not provide means for plug-in of attachment
						plugs. Outer shell shall be of molded composition or other material approved
						for the purpose. Unless the lamp and its cord are supported or arranged in such
						a manner that they cannot be used in the hazardous areas classified in this
						section, they shall be of a type approved for such hazardous locations.
(Title 24, Part 3, Section
						  511-2.)