Washington Administrative Code

Every compressed air worker employed in the work shall wear an identification badge furnished by the employer both on and off the job. The badge shall be of durable plastic designed to be worn next to the body. The badge shall state that the wearer is employed as a compressed air…

When workmen are employed in compressed air, the owner shall see that all general hospitals, city and county health departments, local medical societies, police and fire rescue, and the county sheriff in the locality are acquainted with the fact that such work is being undertaken…

The following instructions as well as supplemental instructions deemed advisable by the medical officer for the guidance of compressed air workers shall be printed and conspicuously posted in the change house and in the man locks:(1) Never go on shift with an empty stomach.(2) Av…

Subject to subsections 1-5 below, compression and decompression of workmen shall be carried out in accordance with the rules hereinafter prescribed:(1) Compression or decompression may be carried out in accordance with such alternative regulations as are approved by the state dep…

During the compression of workmen, the pressure shall not, in the first minute after starting compression, be increased to more than 3 pounds per square inch gage. When the pressure of 3 pounds per square inch gage is reached, the pressure shall not be further increased until aft…

(1) Working period. The "working period" shall include the time or period or the sum of periods during which, since last subject to ordinary atmospheric pressure for at least 8 consecutive hours, a workman has been under pressure in a working chamber or chambers.(2) Work pressure…

Decompressions shall be accomplished in accordance with the following methods and procedures:(1) Normal condition. A normal condition is one during which exposure to compressed air is limited to a single continuous "working period" followed by a single decompression in any given …

(1) Explanation.(a) The decompression tables are computed for working chamber pressures from 14 to 50 pounds per square inch gage inclusive by 2 pound increments and for exposure times for each pressure extending from 1/2 to over 8 hours inclusive. Decompressions will be conducte…

(1) Use of man locks. Except when prevented by an emergency, compressed air workers shall pass only through the man lock when passing into or out of a compressed air area. Exception: Caissons having a working area less than 150 square feet may use a combination material and man l…

(1) General. The special low-pressure decompression chamber shall be provided for use when the nature of the work requires decompression times and procedures clearly within the scope of WAC 296-36-110(4).(2) Size and capacity. The headroom in the special decompression chamber sha…

(1) Whenever any workman is in a man lock or in a working chamber to which the man lock affords direct or indirect access, each working man lock shall be in the charge of a competent lock attendant who shall perform no other duties except to operate the lock and shall be employed…

There shall at all times be a thoroughly experienced competent and reliable person on duty at the air control valves as a gage tender who shall regulate the pressure in the working areas. No gage tender shall be on duty more than 8 hours in any 24. During tunneling operations, on…

(1) High pressure. Every compressed air line used to maintain pressure in working areas shall have a pressure gage attached at a point in the immediate vicinity of the control valves to show the pressure on the high pressure side of the control valves. Such gages shall be so loca…

(1) Ventilation. An automatic air quality monitoring system acceptable to the director, department of labor and industries, shall be installed in the pressurized working chamber and shall at all times be maintained in proper working condition. The system shall provide continuous …

(1) Clean air. Compressed air supplied to working area shall not contain quantities of harmful or offensive air contaminants exceeding the limits set forth hereinbefore.(2) Amount. Nor less than 30 cubic feet per minute per man, measured at the prevailing working chamber pressure…

(1) Capacity. The capacity, arrangement and number of compressors shall be sufficient to maintain the necessary pressure without overloading the equipment and to assure maintenance of such pressure in the working chamber during periods of breakdown or other emergency. The compres…

(1) General. There shall be provided on every job a change house which shall have a dressing room and separate spaces for each of the following: drying clothes, shower baths, toilet facilities and rest room with seating facilities and tables.(2) Maintenance. The change house shal…

(1) Toilet facilities. At least one approved chemical toilet shall be provided in the working chamber. Such facilities shall be maintained in a sanitary condition and shall be used by the workers.(2) Housekeeping. No refuse or discarded material of any kind shall be permitted to …

The requirements of chapter 296-155 WAC Parts C-1 and J shall apply.[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060 and 29 C.F.R. 1926, Subpart M, Fall Protection. WSR 13-04-073, § 296-36-170, filed 2/4/13, effective 4/1/13. Statutory Authority: Chapter 49.17…

(1) All lighting underground shall be by electricity. (a) Lighting shall comply with chapter 296-155 WAC.(b) Power equipment shall comply with chapter 296-155 WAC.(2) Emergency lighting. The lighting circuits shall be connected to two independent sources of power supply. In addit…

(1) Effective and reliable signaling devices shall be maintained at all times to give instant communication between the bottom and top of shaft, and where considered necessary by the safety division, dual independent signal systems shall be installed.(2) Special care shall be tak…

(1) Storage and supply. Explosives including detonators shall not be stored or kept underground. The supply for each blast shall be taken directly from above ground to the face and immediately loaded. All explosives remaining after loading a round shall be removed to the magazine…

(1) General. Every building and every flammable structure above ground and all places underground shall be within easy range of firefighting equipment, which shall at all times be maintained in proper working conditions and ready for use.(2) Smoking. No person shall smoke or carr…

(1) Bulkheads. The bulkheads separating the working chamber from areas of lower pressure shall be of sufficient strength to withstand safely the maximum pressure to which it may be subjected. Where there is a possibility of rapid flooding of the working chamber, such as might be …

(1) Number of locks. Every caisson shall have at least two locks, one of which shall be used exclusively as a man lock. Exception: Caissons having a working area less than 150 square feet may have a single or combined man and material lock.(2) Location of man locks. The bottom of…

(1) Appointed physician. Where workmen are employed in compressed air, their employer shall make arrangements for their medical supervision by one or more licensed physicians trained in the physical requirements and the medical aspects of compressed air work and the treatment of …

(1) Requirement and location. When the pressure in a working chamber exceeds 13 pounds per square inch gage, a suitably constructed medical lock shall be provided and maintained and used solely for the treatment and examination of workmen working in compressed air. It shall be si…

Every compressed air worker, upon noticing any symptom of decompression illness and wherever he may be, on the job or off the job, shall proceed immediately to the first-aid room for examination and treatment. Treatment shall be rendered promptly as directed by the appointed phys…

Every case of decompression illness shall be reported by the physician to the . Distribution of the report shall be as directed by the . Responsibility for supervision of treatment and accuracy of the report shall rest with the physician.[Rules (Part XIX D), filed 12/28/62; § 23,…

(1) Every person considered for work in compressed air on any job and before starting work shall be given a thorough medical and physical examination by the appointed physician who shall order special tests when deemed necessary. The physician's findings shall be entered on a for…

Every person who has not previously worked in compressed air shall be tested in the medical lock as part of the preemployment examination before commencing such work. If he passes the test he shall not work more than 4 hours on his first day of work or not more than one-half the …

Every compressed air worker shall be examined at regular intervals to determine his fitness to continue work in compressed air. The interval between regular examinations shall not exceed 2 months when work pressures are 13 pounds or less. For pressures exceeding 13 pounds, the re…

(1) Every compressed air worker who has been absent from the job 10 days or more shall be examined by the physician before resuming work. The physician's findings shall be submitted in writing to the person in charge and shall be kept on the job.(2) Any workman who is suffering f…

(1) Only persons who are able to readily equalize the pressure in their ears shall be accepted for work in compressed air.(2) Persons having chronic alcoholism shall not be permitted to work in compressed air.(3) Persons having chronic systemic disease or any impairing physical d…

If any provision of this safety standard or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this safety standard which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications an…

For the purposes of this chapter.(1) "Assistant director" means the assistant director for the division of occupational safety and health at the department of labor and industries.(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.(3) "Division" or "DOSH" means the div…

This chapter deals with the rights of employees afforded under RCW 49.17.160, which prohibits reprisals, in any form, against employees who exercise rights under WISHA. The purpose of this chapter is to make available in one place interpretations of the various provisions of RCW …

(1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because the employee has:(a) Filed any complaint under or related to WISHA;(b) Instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to WISHA;(c) Testified or is about to testify in a…

(1) Who may file. A complaint alleging retaliation may be filed by the employee, or by the employee's authorized representative.(2) Nature of filing. No particular form of complaint is required.(3) Place of filing. The complaint should be filed with the division by the following …

(1) The assistant director must determine if a violation of RCW 49.17.160 has occurred, or whether there was insufficient evidence to determine if a violation occurred.(2) The assistant director will notify a complainant and their employer of the determination made under subsecti…

(1) A citation and notice of assessment issued for a violation of RCW 49.17.160 as required by WAC 296-360-040, must include all appropriate relief which may include, but is not limited to, the following:(a) Restoring the complainant to the position of employment held by the comp…

Enforcing the provisions of RCW 49.17.160 is not only a matter of protecting rights of individual employees, but also of protecting the public interest. Attempts by an employee to withdraw a filed complaint will not necessarily result in termination of the division's investigatio…

(1) General.(a) An employee who files a complaint under RCW 49.17.160 may pursue remedies under grievance arbitration proceedings in collective bargaining agreements, and may also resort to other agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board, for relief. The division's jur…

RCW 49.17.160 specifically states that "no person shall discharge or in any manner retaliate against any employee" because the employee has exercised rights under WISHA. RCW 49.17.020(5), defines "person" as "one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, busi…

(1) All employees are afforded the full protection of RCW 49.17.160. WISHA defines an employee as "an employee of an employer who is employed in a business of their employer which affects commerce." RCW 49.17.020(4). WISHA does not define "employ"; however, the broad remedial nat…

If the employee's engagement in protected activities was a substantial factor in bringing about the employer's decision, RCW 49.17.160 has been violated. "Substantial factor" means a significant motivating factor in bringing about the employer's decision. "Substantial factor" doe…

RCW 49.17.160 prohibits discharge of, or retaliation against, an employee because the employee has filed any complaint under or related to this act.(1) An example of a complaint made "under" WISHA would be an employee request for inspection pursuant to section 11 (RCW 49.17.110).…

(1) RCW 49.17.160 prohibits discharge of, or retaliation against, any employee because the employee has "instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to WISHA." Proceedings that can arise specifically under WISHA include inspections of worksites under RCW…

RCW 49.17.160 prohibits discharge of, or retaliation against, any employee because the employee "has testified or is about to testify" in proceedings under or related to WISHA. This protection is not limited to testimony in proceedings instituted or caused to be instituted by the…

In addition to protecting employees who file complaints, institute proceedings, or testify in proceedings under or related to WISHA, RCW 49.17.160 also protects employees from retaliation occurring because of the exercise "of any right afforded by this chapter." Certain rights ar…