California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety › Subchapter 7 - General Industry Safety Orders › Group 18 - Explosive Materials › Article 119 - Manufacturing and Processing of Explosive Materials › Section 5328 - Operating Buildings and Equipment

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Operating buildings or rooms in which
						more than 50 pounds of explosive materials which mass detonate are present at
						any time shall be constructed with at least one wall and roof of
						explosion-relief type. The direction of the relief wall shall be so placed as
						to be of least hazard to employees in adjacent buildings.
(b) When explosion pressure relief venting is
						required, the venting area shall be calculated on one square foot for each 35
						cubic feet of building or room area.
(c) Floors and work surfaces shall be
						constructed to facilitate cleaning and to preclude, to the extent possible,
						cracks and crevices in which explosive materials can
						lodge/accumulate.
(d) When it is
						desirable to heat or cool buildings in which explosives are manufactured or
						charges are prepared, this shall be by steam, water, or other indirect sources.
						No floor registers will be permitted.
(e) All electrical wiring and equipment shall
						be in accordance with the Electrical Safety Orders.
(f) Bonding and grounding means shall be
						provided to prevent accumulation of static charges.
(g) Hydraulic or pneumatic presses and hand
						jacks shall be provided with pressure-relief valves so arranged and set that
						the material being processed will not be subjected to pressure likely to cause
						it to explode. Dies and plugged press equipment shall not be cleared by
						striking blows that may detonate or start the material burning.
EXCEPTION: Where provisions have been made to contain
						  or preclude a fire/detonation.
(h) Explosives dust shall not be exhausted to
						the atmosphere. Where vacuum dust collection systems are used, they shall be
						designed by a qualified person, installed and maintained commensurate with the
						hazards involved, incorporating the following requirements:
(1) Adequate filters shall be installed
						between the source vacuum and the point of pick-up to prevent explosive
						materials from entering the vacuum pump or exhauster.
(2) The explosive material dust collection
						system shall be designed to prevent pinch points threaded fittings exposed to
						the hazardous dust and sharp turns, dead ends, pockets, etc., in which
						explosive materials may lodge and accumulate outside the collecting
						chamber.
(3) The entire vacuum
						collection system shall be made electrically continuous and be grounded to a
						maximum resistance of 5 ohms.
(4)
						Chambers in which the dust is collected shall not be located in the operating
						area unless protective shields adequate for the maximum quantity of material in
						the collector are furnished for personnel protection.
(5) No more than two rooms shall be serviced
						by a common connection to a vacuum collection chamber. Where interconnections
						are used, means shall be employed to prevent propagation of an incident via the
						collection piping.
(6) When
						collecting sensitive explosive materials such as black powder, lead azide,
						etc., a "wet" collector which moistens the dust close to the point of intake
						and maintains the dust wet until removed for disposal shall be used. Wetting
						agents shall be compatible with the explosive materials.
(7) Explosive material dust shall be removed
						from the collection chamber as often as necessary to prevent overloading, but
						under no circumstances shall the material be left in the chamber overnight. The
						entire system shall be cleaned at a frequency that will eliminate hazardous
						concentrations of explosive material dust in pipes, tubing, and/or
						ducts.