WAC 296-54-59330   Log unloading, booms, and rafting grounds -- Boats and mechanical devices on waters.  (1) Before starting the boat motor, any spilled fuel must be removed and vapors must be exhausted from any area in which they may accumulate.

     (2) The bilge area must be kept clean and oil, grease, fuel, or highly combustible materials must not be allowed to accumulate.

     (3) Adequate ventilation equipment must be provided and used for the bilge area to prevent the accumulation of toxic or explosive gases or vapors.

     (4) Adequate ventilation equipment must be provided and used for the cabin area on enclosed-cabin boats to prevent an accumulation of harmful gases or vapors.

     (5) Deck and cabin lighting must be provided and used where necessary to provide safe levels of illumination aboard boats. Boats operated between sunset to sunrise, or in conditions of restricted visibility, must display navigation lights as required by the United States Coast Guard. Searchlights or floodlights must be provided for safe navigation and to illuminate working or boarding areas adjacent to the craft.

     (6) On craft used by employees wearing calked shoes, all areas where employees must stand or walk must be made of or be covered with wood or other suitable matting or nonslip material. The covering must be maintained in good condition.

     (7) Each boat must:

     (a) Be provided with a fire extinguisher; and

Note:

For additional requirements relating to portable fire extinguishers see WAC 296-800-300.

     (b) Have a life ring with at least fifty feet of one-fourth inch line attached.

Note:

On log broncs, boomscooters, or other small boomboats where all occupants are required to wear life saving devices and a life ring would present a tripping hazard, the life ring may be omitted.

     (8) Along docks, walkways, or other fixed installations on or adjacent to open water more than five feet deep, approved life rings with at least ninety feet of one-fourth inch line attached, must be provided. The life rings must be spaced at intervals not exceeding two hundred feet and must be easily visible and readily accessible.

     (a) When employees are assigned work at other casual locations where exposure to drowning exists, at least one approved life ring with at least ninety feet of line attached must be provided in the immediate vicinity of the work assigned.

     (b) Lines attached to life rings on fixed installations must be at least ninety feet long, at least one-fourth inch in diameter, and have a minimum breaking strength of five hundred pounds. Similar lines attached to life rings on boats must be at least fifty feet long.

     (c) Life rings must be United States Coast Guard approved thirty-inch size.

     (d) Life rings and attached lines must be maintained to retain at least seventy-five percent of their designed buoyancy and strength.

     (e) Where work is assigned over water where the vertical drop from an accidental fall would exceed fifty feet, special arrangements must be made with and approved by the department of labor and industries prior to such assignment.

     (9) Log broncs, boomscooters, and boomboats must not be loaded with employees or equipment in a way that adversely affects stability or seaworthiness.

     (10) Boats must not be operated at excessive speed or handled recklessly.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, [49.17].040, and[49.17].050 . 01-17-033, § 296-54-59330, filed 8/8/01, effective 9/1/01; 99-17-117, § 296-54-59330, filed 8/18/99, effective 12/1/99.]