Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-56 - Safety standards-Longshore, stevedore and waterfront related operations › Section 296-56-60235 - Welding, cutting and heating (hot work) (see also definition of "hazardous cargo, material, substance or atmosphere")

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) You must make sure hot work is not
			 performed in confined space until all requirements of chapter 296-809 WAC, are
			 met.
(2) You must provide fire
			 protection for employees performing hot work as follows:
(a) To the extent possible, hot work must be
			 performed in designated locations that are free of fire hazards.
(b) When hot work must be performed in a
			 location that is not free of fire hazards, all necessary precautions must be
			 taken to confine heat, sparks, and slag so that they cannot contact flammable
			 or combustible material.
(c) Fire
			 extinguishing equipment suitable for the location must be immediately available
			 and must be maintained in readiness for use at all times.
(d) When the hot work operation is such that
			 normal fire prevention precautions are not sufficient, additional personnel
			 must be assigned to guard against fire during hot work and for a sufficient
			 time after completion of the work to ensure that no fire hazard remains. The
			 employer must instruct all employees involved in hot work operations as to
			 potential fire hazards and the use of firefighting equipment.
(e) Drums and containers which contain or
			 have contained flammable liquids must be kept closed. Empty containers must be
			 removed from the hot work area.
(f)
			 When openings or cracks in flooring cannot be closed, precautions must be taken
			 to ensure that no employees or flammable or combustible materials are exposed
			 to sparks dropping through the floor. Similar precautions must be taken
			 regarding cracks or holes in walls, open doorways and open or broken
			 windows.
(g) Hot work shall not be
			 performed:
(i) In flammable or potentially
			 flammable atmospheres;
(ii) On or
			 in equipment or tanks that have contained flammable gas or liquid or
			 combustible liquid or dust-producing material, until a designated person has
			 tested the atmosphere inside the equipment or tanks and determined that it is
			 not hazardous; or
(iii) Near any
			 area in which exposed readily ignitable materials such as bulk sulphur, baled
			 paper or cotton are stored. Bulk sulphur is excluded from this prohibition if
			 suitable precautions are followed, the person in charge is knowledgeable and
			 the person performing the work has been instructed in preventing and
			 extinguishing sulphur fires.
(h) Drums, containers or hollow structures
			 that have contained flammable or combustible substances must either be filled
			 with water or cleaned, and must then be ventilated.
(i) A designated person must test the
			 atmosphere and determine that it is not hazardous before hot work is performed
			 on or in such structures.
(ii)
			 Before heat is applied to a drum, container or hollow structure, an opening to
			 release built-up pressure during heat application must be provided.