A.D. 1926. 23.—(1) All floors, steps, stairs, passages and gangMaintenance ways shall be of sound construction and maintained in good repair. of passages and stairs. Safe means of access. Precautions in places where dangerous fumes accumulate. (2) All stairs shall be provided with proper and substantial handrails. (3) All openings in floors shall be securely fenced. 24. (1) Safe means of access shall be provided to every place at which any person has at any time to work. 5 (2) A person shall not be employed or work at any place which is more than twelve feet from the ground, 10 unless either the place is one which affords secure foothold and, where necessary, secure handhold, or adequate means are provided by fencing or otherwise to ensure his safety. 25.-(1) Where persons engaged on work which has 15 to be carried on inside any structure or place are exposed to the risk of being overcome by dangerous fumes which are liable to accumulate therein : (a) The structure or place, if not open to the air, shall be provided with a manhole not less than 20 (b) No person shall enter the structure or other (i) all practicable means have been taken 25 for removing any fumes which may be present, and he is wearing a belt to which there is attached a rope of which the free end is held by a person outside; or (ii) he is wearing a suitable breathing appa- 30 ratus; (c) Suitable breathing apparatus and an oxygen reviving apparatus shall be provided and maintained in good condition and so as to be readily accessible, and shall be periodically inspected 35 in the prescribed manner; and (d) A sufficient number of the persons employed shall be trained and practised in the use of such apparatus and in the method of restoring respiration. (2) No work shall be permitted in any boiler flue until it has been ventilated for a sufficiently long time to make work safe for the persons employed. 40 (3) The Secretary of State may grant exemption from A.D. 1926. compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of this section in any case where he is satisfied that compliance with these requirements is 5 unnecessary. 10 15 20 25 25 330 35 26.-(1) Every steam boiler, whether separate or Steam one of a range (a) shall have attached to it- (i) a suitable safety valve, separate from any other fitting which shall be fixed directly to the boiler, and so adjusted as to permit the steam to escape as soon as the maximum permissible working pressure is reached; and (ii) a correct steam pressure gauge connected to the steam space and easily visible by the boiler attendant, which shall indicate the pressure of steam in the boiler in pounds. per square inch, and have marked upon it in a distinctive colour the maximum permissible working pressure; and (iii) at least one water gauge of transparent material to show the water level in the boiler, and, if the working pressure in the boiler normally exceeds forty pounds per square inch, the gauge shall be provided with an efficient guard; and (iv) a suitable stop valve attached directly to the boiler and connecting the boiler to the steam pipe; and (v) where it is one of two or more boilers, (b) shall be provided with means for attaching a (c) unless externally fired or of the water tube type, shall be provided with a suitable fusible plug. For the purposes of this subsection a lever-valve shall not be deemed a suitable safety valve unless the 40 weight is secured on the lever in the correct position. (2) Where a range of two or more steam boilers has a common blow-off pipe, the blow-off valve or tap on each boiler shall be so constructed that it is impossible to remove the key until the valve or tap is closed. Not 45 more than one key shall be in use for any such range. boilers, &c. A.D. 1926. (3) Every steam boiler and all its fittings and attachments (including economisers and superheaters) shall be maintained in efficient working order. (4) Every steam boiler and all such fittings and attachments shall be thoroughly examined by a com- 5 petent person at least once in every period of fourteen months, and also after any extensive repairs. Such examination shall be made both when the boiler is cold and the interior and exterior have been properly prepared, and when the boiler is under normal steam pressure. 10 The examination under steam pressure shall be made on the first occasion when steam is raised after the examination of the boiler when cold, or as soon as possible thereafter, and the person making such examination shall see that the safety valve blows off at the maximum 15 permissible working pressure. (5) A report of the result of every such examination in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars (including the maximum permissible working pressure) shall within fourteen days be entered in or 20 attached to the general register, and the report shall be signed by the person making the examination, and if that person is an inspector of a boiler-inspecting company or association, countersigned by the chief engineer of the company or association. 25 (6) An occupier shall not take into use any new boiler unless he shall have obtained from the manufacturer of the boiler a certificate specifying the maximum permissible working pressure of the boiler, and stating the nature of the tests to which the boiler and fittings have 30 been submitted, and an occupier proposing to take into his own use for the first time a steam boiler which has previously been used shall not take the boiler into use until it has been examined and reported on in accordance with the two preceding subsections. (7) A boiler shall not be used except in accordance with any conditions of safe working which may be specified in the report of the examination. 40 (8) The person making the report, or, in the case of a boiler-inspecting company or association, the chief engineer 35 thereof, shall send to the inspector for the district a copy of the report in every case where the maximum working pressure is reduced, or the examination shows that the boiler cannot continue to be used with safety A.D. 1926. unless certain repairs are carried out immediately or within a specified time. (9) If the person employed to make the examination 5 fails to make a thorough examination as required by this section or makes a report which is false or deficient in any material particular, or being the chief engineer of any boiler-inspecting company or association permits any such report to be made, or fails to send to the inspector for the 10 district a copy of any report as required by the preceding subsection he shall be guilty of an offence, and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds. (10) If the chief inspector is not satisfied as to the competency of the person employed to make the examina15 tion or as to the thoroughness of the examination, he may require the boiler to be re-examined by a person nominated by him, and the occupier shall give the necessary facilities for such re-examination. If as a result of such re-examination it appears that the report of the 20 examination was inadequate or inaccurate in any material particular, the cost of the re-examination shall be recoverable from the occupier summarily as a civil debt, and the report of the re-examination purporting to be signed by the person making it shall be evidence of the facts 25 stated therein. 30 (11) This section shall not apply to the boiler of any ship or of any locomotive which belongs to and is used by any railway company, or to any boiler belonging to or exclusively used in the service of His Majesty. (12) In this Act the expression "maximum permissible working pressure" means, in the case of a boiler which has already been used, that specified in the report of the last examination under this section, and, in the case of a boiler which has not been previously used, that specified 35 by the maker. 40 27.-(1) Every steam receiver shall be fitted with- Steam means to prevent the safe working pressure receivers. A.D. 1926. Exceptions as to steam boilers and steam receivers. (ii) a suitable safety valve so adjusted as to The safety valve and pressure gauge shall be fitted either (2) Every steam receiver and the fittings attached 10 thereto shall be maintained in efficient working order, and shall be periodically examined so far as practicable. (3) A record in the prescribed form shall be kept in the general register of the dates of every such examination. 15 28. The chief inspector may by written certificate except from any of the provisions of the last two preceding sections of this Act any class or type of steam boiler or steam receiver to which he is satisfied that such provision cannot reasonably be applied. Such exception 20 may be unqualified or may be subject to such conditions as may be contained in the certificate. Compressed 29.-(1) Every receiver which forms part of an air receivers. air-compressing plant shall— (a) have marked upon it so as to be plainly visible 25 (b) have attached to it a suitable safety valve (d) have attached to it a suitable drain-valve or (e) be provided with a suitable manhole, handhole, 35 (f) be thoroughly cleaned and examined at least (2) Every such compressed air receiver and the 40 fittings attached thereto shall be maintained in efficient working order. |