Reprint
as at 6 November 2008
Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958
(SR 1958/121)
Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958: revoked, on 6 November 2008, by clause
3 of the Regulations Revocation Order 2008 (SR 2008/367).
PURSUANT to the Factories Act 1946, His Excellency the Gov
ernorGeneral acting by and with the advice and consent of the Ex
ecutive Council, hereby makes the following regulations.
Contents
Page
Note
Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989
have been made in this eprint.
A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this eprint, together
with other explanatory material about this eprint.
These regulations are administered in the Department of Labour.
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Part 1 r 1 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 6 November 2008
Preliminary
Application of regulations
Restrictions on use of substances in blasting
Blasting enclosures
Protective clothing
Amenities
Cleaning
Restrictions on employment
Reporting of defects
Penalties
1 Preliminary
(1) These regulations may be cited as the Abrasive Blasting Regu
lations 1958.
(2) These regulations shall come into force on the thirtieth day
after the date of their notification in the Gazette.
2
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Blasting means the cleaning, smoothing, roughening, cutting,
or removing of part of the surface of any article by the use as
an abrasive of a jet of sand, metal shot, or grit or other material,
propelled by a blast of compressed air or steam or by a wheel
Blasting enclosure means a chamber, barrel, cabinet, or other
similar enclosure designed for the performance of blasting
therein
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6 November 2008 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 Part 4 r 4
Blasting chamber means a blasting enclosure into which per
sons enter.
3 Application of regulations
Nothing in these regulations shall apply to blasting carried on
otherwise than in a factory.
Restrictions on use of substances in
4 blasting
(1) On and after the expiry of one year from the date of the no
tification of these regulations in the Gazette, no sand or other
substance containing free silica shall be introduced as an abra
sive into any blasting apparatus:
Provided that where the Medical Officer of Health is satisfied
that the use of sand, or other substance containing free silica,
as an abrasive in blasting is necessary for a particular manu
facture or process in a factory he may exempt that factory from
the provisions of this subclause.
(2) Any exemption granted under subclause (1) of this regulation
may be granted absolutely or subject to such conditions as may
be specified in the certificate and any such exemption may
at any time be revoked or any such conditions varied by the
Medical Officer of Health.
(3) Where the Medical Officer of Health refuses to grant any ex
emption under this regulation or imposes any condition there
under which the occupier considers unreasonable, the occupier
of the factory concerned may appeal to a Magistrate and the
provisions of section 83 of the Factories Act 1946, as far as
they are applicable and with the necessary modification, shall
apply as if the appeal were made under that section.
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Part 5 r 5 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 6 November 2008
(4) The occupier of any factory who fails to comply with any con
ditions imposed pursuant to this regulation commits an offence
against these regulations.
5 Blasting enclosures
(1) No blasting shall be done except in a blasting enclosure:
Provided that this subclause shall not apply, where, owing to
the size, shape, or position of any article in respect of which
blasting is being carried out it is not practicable to do blasting
in respect of that article in a blasting enclosure.
(2) No work shall be performed in a blasting enclosure, except
blasting and work immediately incidental thereto and the
cleaning and repairing of the enclosure and of plant and
appliances situated therein.
6
(1) All practicable measures shall be taken to prevent dust es
caping from blasting enclosures, and from any apparatus con
nected therewith, into the air of any room or workplace.
(2) Every door of a blasting enclosure shall be kept closed while
blasting is being done therein.
(3) Blasting enclosures and all equipment associated therewith
shall be of sound construction and properly maintained.
(4) Means, to the satisfaction of the Inspector, shall be provided
in the door or walls of every blasting chamber of such size
and maintained in such condition as to give a full view of the
operator by any person outside the chamber.
(5) There shall be provided and maintained in connection with
every blasting enclosure efficient apparatus for separating, as
far as practicable, abrasive which has been used in blasting
apparatus and which is to be used again as an abrasive from
dust or particles of other material arising from blasting, and no
such abrasive shall again be introduced into blasting apparatus
until it has been so separated.
(6) There shall be provided and maintained in connection with
every blasting enclosure efficient ventilating plant to extract,
by exhaust draught effected by mechanical means, dust pro
duced in the enclosure and to remove and dispose of any such
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6 November 2008 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 Part 5 r 6
dust so that it shall not escape into the air of any room or work
place or constitute a nuisance in the vicinity of the blasting en
closure.
(7) Every bag used for filtering the dust and every other filtering
or settling device situated in a room in which persons are em
ployed, other than persons attending to the bag or other filter
ing or settling device, shall be completely separated from the
general air of that room in an enclosure ventilated to the open
air.
(8) Means of access to and egress from every blasting chamber
shall be provided to the satisfaction of the Inspector.
(9) A stop valve shall be installed to the satisfaction of the In
spector at a conveniently accessible point on the compressed
air supply line outside the blasting chamber.
(10) The ventilating plant shall be left in continuous operation dur
ing all blasting operations, and for at least five minutes after
blasting operations have ceased, and in the case of a blasting
chamber shall be in operation when any person is inside the
chamber for the purpose of cleaning or repair work:
Provided that where it is necessary to enter a blasting chamber
to repair the ventilating system and it is not practicable to keep
the ventilating system in continuous operation, no person shall
enter the blasting chamber until one hour has passed since the
last blasting operation was performed.
(11) The occupier shall ensure that every blasting enclosure shall
be specially inspected by a person competent for the purpose
in every week in which it is used for blasting. Every blasting
enclosure, the apparatus connected therewith, and the venti
lating plant provided in connection with the enclosure shall
be thoroughly examined and, in the case of ventilating plant,
tested, by a person competent for the purpose at least once in
every month.
(12) Any defect found on any such inspection, examination, or test
shall be immediately reported by the person carrying out the
inspection, examination, or test to the occupier, and, without
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Part 7 r 7 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 6 November 2008
prejudice to the fore going requirements of these regulations,
shall be remedied without avoidable delay.
7 Protective clothing
(1) There shall be provided and maintained for the use of all per
sons who are employed in a blasting chamber, whether in
blasting or in any work connected therewith or in cleaning
inside any such chamber, approved protective helmets; and
every such person shall wear the helmet provided for his use
whilst he is in the chamber and shall not remove it until he is
outside the chamber.
(2) Each protective helmet shall carry a distinguishing mark indi
cating the person by whom it is intended to be used, and no
person shall wear or be allowed or required to wear a helmet
not carrying his mark or a helmet which has been worn by an
other person and has not since been disinfected by an approved
method.
(3) Each protective helmet when in use shall be supplied with suf
ficient air free from impurities.
(4) Helmets that are not in use shall not be left or stored inside a
blasting chamber.
(5) Where blasting is performed in the open air and has a sur
rounding isolation of at least 15 metres there shall be provided
and maintained for persons employed in blasting work, and
every other person employed within 15 metres of any such
blasting work proved respirators and protective clothing.
(6) Where blasting work is performed in an enclosed space such
as a tank, a boiler, a pipe, or in any place in the open air that
has not a complete surrounding isolation of at least 15 metres,
there shall be provided and maintained for all persons em
ployed within such enclosed space the protective helmet re
quired by subclause (1) hereof.
(7) Suitable gauntlets and overalls shall be provided for the use of
all persons while performing blasting or assisting at blasting,
and every person shall while so engaged wear the gauntlets
and overalls provided.
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(8) All helmets, gauntlets, overalls, and other protective devices
or clothing provided and worn in accordance with these regu
lations shall be kept in good condition and freed so far as rea
sonably practicable from dust on every day on which they are
used. Where dust arising from the cleaning of any such pro
tective clothing or devices is likely to be inhaled, all practic
able measures shall be taken to prevent any such inhalation.
Vacuum cleaners shall, wherever practicable, be used for re
moving dust from such clothing and compressed air shall not
be used for removing dust from any clothing.
(9) For the purpose of this regulation approved means approved
by the officer of the Health Department holding office as Dir
ector of Public Hygiene.
Regulation 7 was amended, as from 4 April 1975, by regulation 2 Abrasive
Blasting Regulations 1958, Amendment No 2 (SR 1975/63) by substituting the
expression “15 metres” for the expression “50 ft” wherever it occurs.
8 Amenities
(1) The washing facilities required to be provided by the building
code set out in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 1992
shall include the provision of a constant supply of hot water
and, for persons engaged in a blasting chamber, the provision
of a shower bath serviced with hot and cold water
(2) Nothing in this regulation shall be construed as requiring the
washing facilities provided for persons engaged in blasting to
be separate from those provided for other persons.
(3) At least one dressing room shall be provided and maintained
conveniently accessible to, but separate from, any room in
which blasting operations or work incidental thereto is carried
on.
(4) Two separate full length lockers having doors and being venti
lated top and bottom shall be provided in the dressing room for
the clothing of each person engaged in blasting operations, one
locker being exclusively for his contaminated working clothes
(including the protective clothing provided in accordance with
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these regulations) and the other for his other clothing and per
sonal effects:
Provided that if a second dressing room is provided solely for
depositing contaminated working clothes only one locker need
be provided in the first dressing room for each person.
Subclause (1) was amended, as from 19 January 1994, by regulation 2 Abrasive
Blasting Regulations 1958, Amendment No 4 (SR 1993/405) by substituting
the words “the building code set out in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations
1992” for the words “section 62 of the Factories Act 1946”.
9 Cleaning
(1) Where any person is engaged upon the cleaning of any blast
ing apparatus or blasting enclosure or of any apparatus or ven
tilating plant connected therewith or the surrounding thereof
or upon other work in connection with any blasting apparatus
or blasting enclosure or with any apparatus or ventilating plant
connected therewith so that he is rendered liable to inhale dust
which has arisen from blasting, all practicable measures shall
be taken to prevent any such inhalation.
(2) In connection with the cleaning operations referred to in sub
clause (1) of this regulation and with the removal of dust from
filtering or settling devices all practicable measures shall be
taken to dispose of the dust in such a manner as to prevent it
entering the air of any room. Vacuum cleaners shall be used
wherever practicable for any such cleaning operations.
(3) Vacuum cleaning plant used for the purposes of these regula
tions shall be properly maintained.
10 Restrictions on employment
(1) No person under eighteen years of age shall be employed in
blasting or assisting at blasting or in any blasting chamber or
in the cleaning of any blasting apparatus or any blasting en
closure or apparatus or ventilating plant connected therewith.
(2)
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6 November 2008 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 Explanatory Note
Subclause (2) was revoked, as from 9 March 1973, by regulation 2 Abrasive
Blasting Regulations 1958, Amendment No 1 (SR 1973/44).
11 Reporting of defects
If any person engaged in blasting, cleaning, or other work con
nected with the observance of these regulations finds any de
fect in any enclosure, apparatus, plant, clothing, or accommo
dation provided for the purposes of these regulations, he shall
without delay report the defect to the occupier.
12 Penalties
Every person commits an offence against these regulations,
and shall be liable on summary conviction to the penalties pro
vided in that behalf in section 62(1)(b) of the Factories and
Commercial Premises Act 1981, who acts in contravention of,
or fails or refuses duly and faithfully to observe or comply
with, any requirement, obligation, rule, or provision, imposed
or enacted, or required to be observed, under these regulations.
Regulation 12 was substituted, as from 1 February 1982, by regulation 2 Abra
sive Blasting Regulations 1958, Amendment No 3 (SR 1981/363).
T J SHERRARD,
Clerk of the Executive Council.
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate
their general effect.
These regulations, which are based on similar rules in force in the
United Kingdom, make provision relating to the safety, health, and
welfare of persons engaged in abrasive blasting operations in factor
ies.
The regulations prohibit the use of sand or other substance containing
free silica as an abrasive in blasting operations but an exemption from
the prohibition may be granted by the Medical Officer of Health.
A right of appeal to a Magistrate is given in cases where any such
exemption is refused.
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Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 6 November 2008
The regulations also provide for the provision, construction, and
maintenance of blasting enclosures, the wearing of protective
clothing, the provision of amenities when blasting is carried out,
and the restriction of employment of youths and females in blasting
operations.
Issued under the authority of the Regulations Act 1936
Date of notification in Gazette: 4 September 1958.
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6 November 2008 Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958 Notes
Contents
1 General
2 About this eprint
3 List of amendments incorporated in this eprint (most recent
first)
Notes
1 General
This is an eprint of the Abrasive Blasting Regulations 1958.
It incorporates all the amendments to the regulations as at 6
November 2008. The list of amendments at the end of these
notes specifies all the amendments incorporated into this eprint
since 3 September 2007. Relevant provisions of any amending
enactments that contain transitional, savings, or application
provisions are also included, after the Principal enactment, in
chronological order.
2 About this eprint
This eprint has not been officialised. For more information
about officialisation, please see “Making online legislation of
ficial” under “Status of legislation on this site” in the About
section of this website.
3 List of amendments incorporated in this eprint
(most recent first)
Regulations Revocation Order 2008 (SR 2008/367): clause 3
11
