Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-17A - Classifications for Washington workers' compensation insurance › Section 296-17A-0604 - Classification 0604

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
0604-04 Scrap metal dealers or processors: Collecting,
				sorting and reduction of scrap metal
Applies to establishments engaged as dealers or processors of
				ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals for resale. Ferrous metals are primarily
				composed of iron or steel. Nonferrous metals include, but are not limited to,
				aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, lead, magnesium, pewter, tin, and zinc. If the
				dealer collects scrap metals from mills, foundries, refineries, or fabricators,
				they usually leave dumpster containers with the "customer" and pick up the full
				containers with their own trucks. If they buy scrap from independent
				collectors, the collectors bring the metals to the dealer's yard. In either
				case, the metal is weighed, graded, and sorted by type at the dealer's yard. It
				may be resold as is to customers who occasionally come to the yard; however, it
				is usually further processed and prepared for shipping to industrial customers.
				Shipping is done by rail, ship, or common carrier. As an incidental service,
				scrap dealers may also buy back recyclable goods such as, but not limited to,
				aluminum cans, glass, and batteries; this activity is included within the scope
				of this classification when performed by employees of employers subject to this
				classification. Processing includes one or more of the following operations:
				Cutting off impure metals or plastic parts with acetylene cutting torches;
				cutting scraps into smaller pieces with alligator shears or cutting torches;
				slicing heavier scrap metals or flattened automobiles with hydraulic guillotine
				shears; crushing auto bodies with crushers; ripping apart large pieces of scrap
				with shredders; separating metal from rubber, plastic, wood, dirt, and other
				materials with magnetic separators; removing insulated coverings from copper
				wire with wire choppers, and compressing scraps into bales with balers.
				Additional machinery includes, but is not limited to, conveyors, scales,
				forklifts, tractor-trailer trucks, cranes, electromagnets or grapples, front
				end loaders, and grinders. Because of recent EPA regulations, instead of
				melting down metals in their own furnaces, scrap dealers usually ship it to
				foundries or steel mills that conform with the regulations. However, reduction
				of metals is included within the scope of this classification if performed by
				an establishment subject to this classification.
This classification excludes dealers that sell new iron, steel,
				wire or cable which are to be reported separately in classification 2004;
				automobile or truck wrecking or dismantling establishments which are to be
				reported separately in classification 1104; and recycle, collection, and
				receiving stations (known as buy-back stations) for rags, bottles, paper, and
				metal containers which are to be reported separately in classification
				2102.
Special note
:
Scrap
				metal dealers vary widely in the type of metals or usable items they buy and
				sell. Often the term "junk yards" is used to describe dealers who carry a
				sizable inventory of used goods, such as, but not limited to, bottles, rags,
				paper, appliances, nails, rubber, in addition to scrap metal in varying
				amounts. It is the activity of the business that must be considered when
				determining the classification, rather than how the business refers to its
				activities. Receiving/buy-back stations for recyclable items in classification
				2102 are different from dealers in classification 0604. Receiving stations buy
				back only recyclable items which they do not process, other than condensing the
				materials into bales, and selling it to others.
07-01-014, recodified as § 296-17A-0604, filed 12/8/06,
				  effective 12/8/06. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035. 98-18-042, § 296-17-525,
				  filed 8/28/98, effective 10/1/98. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.04.020(1) and
				  51.16.035. 89-24-051 (Order
				  89-22), § 296-17-525, filed 12/1/89, effective 1/1/90. Statutory
				  Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035. 85-24-032 (Order 85-33), §
				  296-17-525, filed 11/27/85, effective 1/1/86; 85-06-026 (Order 85-7), §
				  296-17-525, filed 2/28/85, effective 4/1/85; Order 73-22, § 296-17-525,
				  filed 11/9/73, effective 1/1/74.