Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a)
(1) The employer shall retain a supervising
physician who shall be available at all times while work is in progress in
order to provide medical supervision of employees employed in compressed air
work. The physician shall meet the physical qualifications of a compressed air
worker and be willing to enter a pressurized environment.
(2) No employee shall be permitted to enter a
compressed air environment until qualified by a physician in accordance with
Section 6053.
(3) In the event an employee is absent from
work for 10 or more consecutive days the employee shall be determined to be
medically fit to resume compressed air work by the physician.
(4) Medical records shall be kept as required
by applicable parts of Section
6058.
(b) Except when the air pressure in the
working chamber is below 14 psig a medical chamber shall be established and
maintained in immediate working order. The medical chamber shall:
(1) Have at least six feet of clear headroom
at the center, and be subdivided into not less than two compartments.
(2) Be readily accessible to employees
working under compressed air.
(3)
Be kept ready for immediate use for at least five hours subsequent to the
emergence of any employee from the working chamber.
(4) Be properly heated, lighted and
ventilated.
(5) Be maintained in a
sanitary condition.
(6) Have a
non-shatterable port through which the occupant(s) may be kept under constant
observation.
(7) Be constructed and
tested in accordance with the Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety Orders; the
medical lock shall be retested whenever it has been out of service for more
than 1 year and whenever it is moved from one location to another.
(8) Be designed for a working pressure of 75
psig.
(9) Be equipped with internal
controls which may be overridden by external controls.
(10) Be provided with air pressure gauges to
show the air pressure within each compartment to observers inside and outside
the medical chamber.
(11) Be
equipped with a quick acting automatic sprinkler system.
(12) Be provided with oxygen lines and
fittings leading into external tanks. The lines shall be fitted with check
valves to prevent reverse flow.
(13) Be in constant charge of an attendant
under the direct control of the supervising physician. The attendant shall be
trained in the use of the chamber and suitably instructed regarding steps to be
taken in the treatment of employees exhibiting symptoms compatible with a
diagnosis of decompression sickness.
(14) Be located adjacent to an emergency
medical facility. The emergency medical facility shall be equipped, as required
by the retained physician, with approved demand type oxygen inhalation
equipment.
(15) Be capable of being
maintained at a temperature, in use, not to exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit nor be
less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
(16) Be provided with sources of oil free
air, both normal and emergency, which are capable of raising the air pressure
in the chamber from 0 to 75 psig in five minutes.
(c) Identification badges shall be furnished
to all employees, indicating that the wearer is a compressed air worker. The
badge shall give employee's name, address of the medical chamber, the phone
number of the licensed physician for the compressed air project, and contain
instructions that in case of an emergency of unknown or doubtful cause or
illness, the wearer shall be rushed to the medical chamber. The badge shall be
worn at all times off the job as well as on the job.
1. New
section filed 4-4-2006; operative 5-4-2006 (Register 2006, No.
14).
2. Amendment of subsection (a)(1), repealer of subsection
(a)(3), subsection renumbering and amendment of subsection (b)(13) filed
3-10-2010; operative 4-9-2010 (Register 2010, No.
11).
Note: Authority cited: Section
142.3, Labor
Code. Reference: Section
142.3, Labor
Code.
