CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and Commencement -
(1) These rules may be called the Static and Mobile Pressure
Vessels (Unfired) Rules, 1981.
(2)
They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official
Gazette.
2. Definitions. -
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires
(a)
"Act" means the Indian Explosives Act, 1884 (4 of 1884)
(b)
"approved" means a drawing, design, specification or code approved
by the Chief Controller.
(c)
"Chief Controller" means the Chief Controller of Explosives
(d)
["Competent person" means a person or an organization recognized
by the Chief Controller, for such cases and for such period as may be
specified as competent for carrying out tests, examination, inspections and
certification for installation and transpor6 vehicles as stipulated in these
rules, if such a person or organization possesses the qualifications,
experience and other requirements a set out in Appendix II to these rules
and is recognized as per procedure laid down in Rule 11-A;
Provided that the Chief controller may relax the requirements of qualifications
in respect of a competent person if such a person is exceptionally
experienced and knowledgeable, but not the requirements in respect of the
facilities at his command];
(e)
"Compressed gas" means any permanent gas, liquefiable gas or, gas
dissolved in liquid, under pressure or gas mixture, which in a closed
pressure vessel exercises a pressure exceeding two atmosphere (gauge) at the
maximum working temperature and includes Hydrogen Fluoride. In case of
vessels without insulation or refrigeration, the maximum working temperature
shall be considered as 550C.
(f)
"Controller of Explosives" includes the Deputy Chief Controller of
Explosives, Deputy Controller of Explosives and Assistant Controller of
Explosives;
(g)
"corrosion" means all forms of wastage, and includes oxidation,
scaling mechanical abrasion and erosion;
(h)
"design" includes drawings, calculation, specifications, models,
codes and all other details necessary for the complete description of the
pressure vessel and its construction;
(i)
"design pressure" means the pressure used in the design
calculations of a vessel for the purpose of determining the minimum
thickness of the various component parts of the vessel;
(j)
"district authority" means --
(i) in towns having a Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner or a
Deputy Commissioner of Police;
and
(ii) in any other place, the District Magistrate;
(k)
"Filling density" means the ration of weight of liquefiable gas
allowed in a pressure vessel to the weight of water that the vessel will
hold at 150 C
(l)
"flammability range" means the difference between the minimum and
maximum percentage by volume of the gas in mixture with air that forms a
flammable mixture at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature;
(m)
"flammable compressed gas" means gas 13 percent or less of which
when mixed with air forms a flammable mixture or whose flammable range with
air is greater than 12%;
(n)
"Form" means the Form appended to these rules;
(o)
"gas free" in relation to a pressure vessel means the
concentration of flammable or toxic gases or both if such pressure vessel is
within the safe limits specified for persons to enter and carry out hot work
in such vessels;
(p)
"Inspector" means a professional organization recognized by the
Chief Controller for certifying pressure vessels and their fittings after
carrying out stage wise inspection during fabrication as stipulated in the
rules so as to ensure that the pressure vessels are designed and constructed
in accordance with IS : 2825 or any other Code approved by the Chief
Controller, if the constituent members of the organization possesses the
qualifications and experience and other requirements as set out in Appendix
II to these rules and the recognition is granted as per procedure laid down
in Rule 11-A;
(q)
"installation" means any place which has been specially prepared
for the storage of compressed gas in pressure vessels;
(r)
"liquefiable gas" means any gas that may be liquefied by pressure
above 00C, but will be completely vaporized when in equilibrium
with normal atmospheric pressure (760 mm hg) at 300C;
(s)
"permanent gas" means a gas whose critical temperature is lower
than 100C.
(t)
"pressure vessel" means any closed metal container of whatever
shape, intended for the storage and transport of any compressed gas which is
subjected to internal pressure and whose water capacity exceeds on e
thousand liters and includes interconnecting parts and components thereof up
to the first point of connection to the connected piping and fittings, but
does not include containers wherein steam or other vapour is or is intended
to be generated or water or other liquid is or is intended to be heated by
the application of fire or the products of combustion or by elect5rical means,
heat exchangers, evaporators, air receivers, steam type digesters, steam
type sterilizers, autoclaves, reactors, clarifiers, pressure piping
components, such as, separators or strainers and vessels containing a liquid
under a blanket of compressed inert gas;
(u)
"safety relief device" means an automatic pressure relieving
device actuated by the pressure upstream of the valve and characterized by
fully opened pop action, intended to prevent the rupture of a pressure
vessel under certain conditions of exposure;
(v)
"source of ignition" means naked lights, fires, exposed
incandescent material, electric welding arcs, lamps, other than those
specially approved for use in flammable atmosphere or a spark or flame
produced by any means;
(w)
"transport" means the transport of a pressure vessel filled with
any compressed gas from one place to another but does not include movement
of the vessel from one place to another in the same premises;
(x)
"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled carriage designed to
transport by land compressed gas in a pressure vessel mounted thereon, and
shall not include a vessel forming the barrel of a rail tank wagon;
3.
General Exemptions
Nothing
in these rules shall apply to vessels which form part of a process plant.
For the purpose of this rule vessels forming part of a processing plant
shall mean vessels which contain, as a process requirement, a compressed gas
received from the consumed in the same processing plant, provided that the
water capacity of the vessel(s) shall be such that the gas stored therein at
the maximum working pressure shall not exceed the requirement for feeding
the consuming point(s) for a period not exceeding 16 hours at the designed
flow rate.
4. Restriction on filling and manufacture
(1)
No person shall fill any compressed gas in any vessel or transport filled
with any compressed gas unless such vessel has been manufactured in
accordance with a type or standard or code duly approved by the Chief
Controller.
(2)
Any factory for the manufacture of vessels in accordance with a type of
standard or code approved under Sub-rle(1) shall be approved by the Chief
Controller. Any person seeking such approval shall submit to the Chief
Controller -
(a) The particulars specified in Appendix I to these rules
(b) A scrutiny fee of rupees five hundred
5.
Restriction on delivery and despatch-
(1)
No person shall deliver or dispatch any compressed gas filled in a vessel to
any person other than the holder of a storage license issued under these
rules or to a port authority or a railway administration.
(2)
No compressed gas delivered or dispatched under sub-rule (1) shall exceed
the quantity which the person to whom it is delivered or dispatched is authorized
to store under the license held by him.
6.
Repaid to pressure vessels
(1)
No person shall carry out any repairs additions or alterations to any vessel
unless, the proposed repairs, additions or altera5tions and the method of
execution have been approved by the Chief Controller. Any such repairs,
additions or alterations approved by the chief Controller shall be carried
out in the manner and by practices acceptable under the design code referred
to in rule 12 :
(2)
Before any repairs, additions or alterations are carried out to any vessel,
the same shall be completely emptied and purged with an inert gas.
(3)
Complete record of repairs, additions or alterations referred to in
sub-rule(1), shall be maintained and made available to the Chief Controller
and the permission shall be obtained before recommissioning the
vessel.
7.
Purging of pressure vessels used for flammable gases -
(1)
Before using any new vessel or before the refilling of any existing vessel
which has been made gas-free, air contained therein shall by be purged an
inert gas or by the gas for which the vessel is to be used.
(2)
If the vessel is purged by means of a flammable gas, the flammable mixture
so formed shall be vented from the vessel only after taking adequate
precautions to prevent its ignitions.
8.
Prohibition of employment of children and intoxicated person
No
person under the age of eighteen years or who is in a state of intoxication
shall be employed for the loading, unloading or transport of any vessel
containing compressed gas or in any premises licensed under these rules.
9.
Prohibiiton of smoking, fires, lights etc.
No
person shall smoke and no matches, fires, lights or articles or substance,
capable of causing ignition of any flammable gas shall be allowed, at any
time in proximity to a place where any compressed gas, is stored, handled or
transported in a vessel.
10.
Special precautions against accidents -
(1) No person shall commit or
attempt to commit any act which may tend to cause a fire or explosion
in or about any place where any compressed gas is stored, handled or
transported in vessel.
(2) All empty vessels which
had contained, any flammable or toxic gases, shall except when they are
opened for the purposes of filling or cleaning, or for rendering the
gas-free, be kept securely closed until they have been cleaned or freed of
the gas, as the case may be.
(3) Every person storing
compressed gas in a vessel and every person in charge of , or engaged in the
storage, handling and transport of such gas in vessels shall at all times :-
(i) Comply with the provisions of these rules and the conditions of
any
license
issued there under;
(ii) observe all precautions of the prevention or accident by fire or
explosion; and
(iii) prevent any person from committing any act referred in
sub-rule (1)
11.
Procedure for payment of fees
