Section 5.183. Dry houses, dry dump houses and blending houses

(a) Powder bins. Powder bins shall be suitably grounded to insure safety from static electricity. A monthly inspection and report shall be made of the condition of such apparatus by a competent person designated by the superintendent.

(b) Number of employes allowed. The number of employes allowed shall be as follows:

(1) No more than six employes shall be allowed inside of or around a dry house or dry dump house while a filling or emptying process is being carried on.

(2) No more than 12 employes shall be allowed inside of a cordite blending house.

(3) No more than ten employes shall be allowed inside of a gravity type of blending house (a house in which the entire charge of powder is deposited in a bin or funnel situated one or more floors above the packing floor).

(4) No more than eight employes shall be allowed inside of a bin type of blending house (a house in which all operations are carried on on one floor).

(5) Where more than eight men are necessary to carry on operations in a gravity or bin-type of blending house, a number not exceeding 12 men will be permitted, if a fire-resistive wall of a type approved by the Department or its authorized representative is erected. Such wall shall separate employes engaged in weighing, packing, and inspecting from the bins containing powder. A covered fire-resistive means of escape extending at least 75 feet from the building shall be erected. The plan and type of this means of escape shall also be approved by the Department or its authorized representative.

(6) Restrictions as to the number of employes are intended to include laborers and foremen, but not inspectors, superintendents or other members of the staff of the plant manager whose duties only occasionally require their presence to see that work is progressing properly.