Subpart J - Welding and Cutting

Scope: This standard provides the requirements for gas welding and cutting.

Special Requirements: Tags, signs, painted, tested, inspected, authorized (person), rules, references other standards 

1926.350(a)(12) - The in-plant handling, storage, and utilization of all compressed gases in cylinders, portable tanks, rail tankcars, or motor vehicle cargo tanks shall be in accordance with Compressed Gas Association Pamphlet P-1-1965. 

1926.350(c)(2) - No person other than the gas supplier shall attempt to mix gases in a cylinder. No one except the owner of the cylinder or person authorized by him, shall refill a cylinder. No one shall use a cylinder's contents for purposes other than those intended by the supplier. All cylinders used shall meet the Department of Transportation requirements published in 49 CFR part 178, subpart C, Specification for Cylinders.  

1926.350(d)(5) - If, when the valve on a fuel gas cylinder is opened, there is found to be a leak around the valve stem, the valve shall be closed and the gland nut tightened. If this action does not stop the leak, the use of the cylinder shall be discontinued, and it shall be properly tagged and removed from the work area. In the event that fuel gas should leak from the cylinder valve, rather than from the valve stem, and the gas cannot be shut off, the cylinder shall be properly tagged and removed from the work area. If a regulator attached to a cylinder valve will effectively stop a leak through the valve seat, the cylinder need not be removed from the work area. 

1926.350(e)(1) - Fuel gas and oxygen manifolds shall bear the name of the substance they contain in letters at least 1-inch high which shall be either painted on the manifold or on a sign permanently attached to it.

1926.350(f)(4) - Hose which has been subject to flashback, or which shows evidence of severe wear or damage, shall be tested to twice the normal pressure to which it is subject, but in no case less than 300 p.s.i. Defective hose, or hose in doubtful condition, shall not be used. 

1926.350(g)(2) - Torches in use shall be inspected at the beginning of each working shift for leaking shutoff valves, hose couplings, and tip connections. Defective torches shall not be used.  

1926.350(j) - Additional rules. For additional details not covered in this subpart, applicable technical portions of American National Standards Institute, Z49.1-1967, Safety in Welding and Cutting, shall apply.

Scope: This standard provides the requirements for arc welding and cutting.

Special Requirements: Inspections, checks, operating instructions, reporting, instruct, references other standards 

1926.351(c)(2) - Pipelines containing gases or flammable liquids, or conduits containing electrical circuits, shall not be used as a ground return. For welding on natural gas pipelines, the technical portions of regulations issued by the Department of Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety, 49 CFR part 192, Minimum Federal Safety Standards for Gas Pipelines, shall apply.

1926.351(c)(4) - When a structure or pipeline is continuously employed as a ground return circuit, all joints shall be bonded, and periodic inspections shall be conducted to ensure that no condition of electrolysis or fire hazard exists by virtue of such use.

1926.351(c)(5) - The frames of all arc welding and cutting machines shall be grounded either through a third wire in the cable containing the circuit conductor or through a separate wire which is grounded at the source of the current. Grounding circuits, other than by means of the structure, shall be checked to ensure that the circuit between the ground and the grounded power conductor has resistance low enough to permit sufficient current to flow to cause the fuse or circuit breaker to interrupt the current.

1926.351(c)(6) - All ground connections shall be inspected to ensure that they are mechanically strong and electrically adequate for the required current.

1926.351(d) - Operating instructions. Employers shall instruct employees in the safe means of arc welding and cutting as follows: [Reference paragraph (d)(1) – (5)].

• 1926.351(d)(4) - Any faulty or defective equipment shall be reported to the supervisor.

• 1926.351(d)(5) - See 1926.406(c) - Specific purpose equipment and installations, electric welders – disconnecting means, for additional requirements.

Scope: This standard provides the fire prevention requirements during welding, cutting and heating operations.

Special Requirements: Fire extinguishing equipment, firefighting equipment, instructed, guarding, precautions, tested, references other standards 

1926.352(d) - Suitable fire extinguishing equipment shall be immediately available in the work area and shall be maintained in a state of readiness for instant use.

1926.352(e) - When the welding, cutting, or heating operation is such that normal fire prevention precautions are not sufficient, additional personnel shall be assigned to guard against fire while the actual welding, cutting, or heating operation is being performed, and for a sufficient period of time after completion of the work to ensure that no possibility of fire exists. Such personnel shall be instructed as to the specific anticipated fire hazards and how the firefighting equipment provided is to be used.

1926.352(f) - When welding, cutting, or heating is performed on walls, floors, and ceilings, since direct penetration of sparks or heat transfer may introduce a fire hazard to an adjacent area, the same precautions shall be taken on the opposite side as are taken on the side on which the welding is being performed.

1926.352(i) - Drums containers, or hollow structures which have contained toxic or flammable substances shall, before welding, cutting, or heating is undertaken on them, either be filled with water or thoroughly cleaned of such substances and ventilated and tested. For welding, cutting and heating on steel pipelines containing natural gas, the pertinent portions of regulations issued by the Department of Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety, 49 CFR part 192, Minimum Federal Safety Standards for Gas Pipelines, shall apply.

Scope: This standard provides the requirements for ventilation and protection in welding, cutting, and heating.

Special Requirements: Communication, personal protective equipment (i.e., respirators, lifelines), rescue procedures, rescue operations, special precautions, references other standards  

1926.353(a)(2) - General mechanical ventilation shall be of sufficient capacity and so arranged as to produce the number of air changes necessary to maintain welding fumes and smoke within safe limits, as defined in subpart D - occupational health and environmental controls of this part (1926).

1926.353(a)(3) - Local exhaust ventilation shall consist of freely movable hoods intended to be placed by the welder or burner as close as practicable to the work. This system shall be of sufficient capacity and so arranged as to remove fumes and smoke at the source and keep the concentration of them in the breathing zone within safe limits as defined in subpart D - occupational health and environmental controls of this part. 

1926.353(b)(2) - When sufficient ventilation cannot be obtained without blocking the means of access, employees in the confined space shall be protected by air line respirators in accordance with the requirements of subpart E - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part, and an employee on the outside of such a confined space shall be assigned to maintain communication with those working within it and to aid them in an emergency.

1926.353(b)(3) - Lifelines. Where a welder must enter a confined space through a manhole or other small opening, means shall be provided for quickly removing him in case of emergency. When safety belts and lifelines are used for this purpose they shall be so attached to the welder's body that his body cannot be jammed in a small exit opening. An attendant with a pre-planned rescue procedure shall be stationed outside to observe the welder at all times and be capable of putting rescue operations into effect. 

1926.353(c)(2) - Welding, cutting, or heating in any enclosed spaces involving the metals specified in this subparagraph shall be performed with local exhaust ventilation in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, or employees shall be protected by air line respirators in accordance with the requirements of subpart E - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part: [Reference paragraph (c)(2)(i) – (iv)].

1926.353(c)(3) - Employees performing such operations in the open air shall be protected by filter-type respirators in accordance with the requirements of subpart E - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part, except that employees performing such operations on beryllium-containing base or filler metals shall be protected by air line respirators in accordance with the requirements of subpart E - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part.

1926.353(d)(1) - Since the inert-gas metal-arc welding process involves the production of ultra-violet radiation of intensities of 5 to 30 times that produced during shielded metal-arc welding, the decomposition of chlorinated solvents by ultraviolet rays, and the liberation of toxic fumes and gases, employees shall not be permitted to engage in, or be exposed to the process until the following special precautions have been taken: [Reference paragraph (d)(1)(i) – (iv)].

1926.353(e)(1) - Welding, cutting, and heating, not involving conditions or materials described in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section, may normally be done without mechanical ventilation or respiratory protective equipment, but where, because of unusual physical or atmospheric conditions, an unsafe accumulation of contaminants exists, suitable mechanical ventilation or respiratory protective equipment shall be provided.

1926.353(e)(2) - Employees performing any type of welding, cutting, or heating shall be protected by suitable eye protective equipment in accordance with the requirements of subpart E - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part.

Scope: This standard provides the requirements for welding, cutting, and heating in way of preservative coatings.

Special Requirements: Tests, competent person, precautions, personal protective equipment (respirators), references other standards 

1926.354(a) - Before welding, cutting, or heating is commenced on any surface covered by a preservative coating whose flammability is not known, a test shall be made by a competent person to determine its flammability. Preservative coatings shall be considered to be highly flammable when scrapings burn with extreme rapidity.

1926.354(b) - Precautions shall be taken to prevent ignition of highly flammable hardened preservative coatings. When coatings are determined to be highly flammable, they shall be stripped from the area to be heated to prevent ignition.

1926.354(c)(1) - In enclosed spaces, all surfaces covered with toxic preservatives shall be stripped of all toxic coatings for a distance of at least 4 inches from the area of heat application, or the employees shall be protected by air line respirators, meeting the requirements of subpart e - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part (1926).

1926.354(c)(2) - In the open air, employees shall be protected by a respirator, in accordance with requirements of subpart e - personal protective and life saving equipment of this part.