PRINTER'S NO. 3025
No. 2279 Session of 1988
INTRODUCED BY BRANDT, COHEN, PITTS, LaGROTTA, B. SMITH, HAYES,
SWEET, BARLEY, SCHULER, FOSTER, WASS, SEMMEL, BURD, McHALE,
JOHNSON, NOYE, BATTISTO, SCHEETZ, PUNT, HONAMAN, VROON,
CARLSON, JADLOWIEC, BLACK, ROBBINS AND HERMAN, MARCH 22, 1988
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, MARCH 22, 1988
AN ACT
1 Regulating the inspection and approval of antique boilers;
2 providing for certain powers and duties of the Department of
3 Labor and Industry; providing a penalty; and making a repeal.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Antique
8 Boiler Law.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Antique boiler." Any closed vessel, manufactured prior to
14 January 1, 1955, and used solely for display and demonstration
15 purposes, in which water is heated or steam is superheated,
16 under pressure or vacuum, for external use, by the direct
17 application of heat from the combustion of fuels or from
1 electricity. The term includes fired vessels, manufactured prior
2 to January 1, 1955, and used solely for display and
3 demonstration purposes, in which liquids other than water are
4 heated or vaporized, where those vessels are separate from
5 processing systems and are complete within themselves. The term
6 also includes replicas and reproductions of such closed vessels
7 or fired vessels, regardless of the date of construction, where
8 the replica or reproduction is used solely for display and
9 demonstration purposes.
10 "Approved." Accepted by the department.
11 "ASME." The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
12 "Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
13 Commonwealth.
14 "Inspector." An inspector commissioned by the National Board
15 of Boiler and Unfired Pressure Vessel Inspectors to inspect
16 boilers or unfired pressure vessels.
17 "Person." Any individual, firm, partnership, unincorporated
18 association, corporation or municipality. The term includes the
19 Commonwealth.
20 Section 3. Applicability.
21 No antique boiler covered under this act shall be operated
22 without first obtaining an operating sticker from the
23 department, except that nothing in this act shall be construed
24 to apply to the following:
25 (1) Antique boilers under Federal jurisdiction.
26 (2) Antique boilers of sizes, pressures, capacities or
27 temperatures below limitations and conditions set forth in
28 regulations of the department.
29 Section 4. Testing, inspection and approvals.
30 (a) Testing.--
19880H2279B3025 - 2 -
1 (1) An antique boiler shall be subjected to
2 nondestructive testing to determine the maximum allowable
3 working pressure once every nine years, or more frequently if
4 the department, based on an inspection or other evidence, so
5 requires. This test shall be performed by an ASME "S" Code
6 stamp holder, who shall stamp the boiler with the month and
7 year the test was performed, the maximum allowable working
8 pressure and the "S" Code stamp holder's ASME Certificate of
9 Authorization number.
10 (2) All antique boilers shall pass a hydrostatic test at
11 one and one-quarter maximum allowable working pressure every
12 five years, or more frequently if the department, based on an
13 inspection or other evidence, so requires. Hydrostatic tests
14 shall be conducted in the presence of an inspector.
15 (b) Inspection.--An antique boiler must be inspected
16 annually by an inspector. The inspection shall include the
17 following:
18 (1) The fusible plug.
19 (2) The safety valve, which must be of an approved
20 design and must be set at the maximum allowable working
21 pressure. The safety valve shall be sealed in a manner that
22 does not allow tampering with the valve setting without
23 destroying the seal.
24 (3) A visual examination for any evidence of corrosion.
25 (4) A visual examination for any evidence of leakage.
26 (5) The boiler power piping, up to and including the
27 first valve.
28 (6) Confirmation that the testing requirements of
29 subsection (a) have been completed.
30 (7) Any other requirements specified in the department's
19880H2279B3025 - 3 -
1 regulations.
2 (c) Approvals.--
3 (1) Upon successful completion of the inspection
4 required in subsection (b) and payment of the fee required in
5 section 6, the department shall approve the operation of an
6 antique boiler. The department shall issue an operating
7 sticker signifying this approval. This operating sticker
8 shall be valid for a period not to exceed 13 months. The
9 sticker shall indicate the year and month the inspection was
10 performed and the year and month of the most recent
11 hydrostatic test. The operating sticker shall be prominently
12 displayed on the antique boiler.
13 (2) The department's approval shall expire automatically
14 upon commencement of any alteration or repair of the boiler
15 which involves welding. The owner shall notify the department
16 prior to commencing such alterations or repairs. All welding
17 performed on antique boilers shall be done by certified
18 welders meeting the standards set forth in regulations
19 promulgated by the department. Upon completion of alterations
20 or repairs involving welding, the antique boiler shall be
21 tested and inspected in accordance with subsections (a) and
22 (b) prior to the issuance of an operating sticker.
23 (d) Alternate approval.--An operating sticker shall not be
24 required for an antique boiler which has a valid license,
25 certificate or other operating permit from a state or territory
26 whose licensing requirements have been determined by the
27 department to meet or exceed the requirements of this act. The
28 department shall annually publish a list of the states whose
29 licensing requirements meet or exceed the requirements of this
30 act.
19880H2279B3025 - 4 -
1 Section 5. Discontinuance of operation.
2 The department shall order the owner or operator of an
3 antique boiler not meeting the requirements of this act to
4 immediately cease operation and discontinue the use of such
5 antique boiler.
6 Section 6. Fees.
7 A fee of $25 shall be charged for inspections under section
8 4(b), whether or not the antique boiler passes the inspection.
9 The department shall charge a $5 fee for issuance of an
10 operating sticker. Any fees owed to the department shall be paid
11 prior to the issuance of an operating sticker. The department
12 shall transmit fees for inspections performed by the department
13 and for the issuance of operating stickers to the State
14 Treasurer through the Department of Revenue.
15 Section 7. Transition period.
16 Any antique boiler covered under this act may continue in
17 operation without complying with the provisions of this act for
18 a period not to exceed 12 months after the effective date of
19 this act.
20 Section 8. Rules and regulations.
21 The department shall have the power, and its duty shall be,
22 to make, alter, amend or rescind rules and regulations to carry
23 out the provisions of this act. Any antique boiler which is
24 required to be inspected under this act and does not comply with
25 those rules and regulations shall not be operated.
26 Section 9. Enforcement.
27 (a) General rule.--After the expiration of the transition
28 period established in section 7, no antique boiler shall be
29 operated for display or demonstration purposes unless it is
30 operated in compliance with the provisions of this act and the
19880H2279B3025 - 5 -
1 rules and regulations of the department. It shall be the duty of
2 the department to enforce the provisions of this act.
3 (b) Procedure in prosecutions.--Prosecutions for violations
4 of the provisions of this act, or of the rules and regulations
5 of the department, may be instituted by the department and shall
6 be in the form of summary proceedings before a district justice.
7 Upon conviction after a hearing, the penalties provided in this
8 section shall be imposed and shall be final, unless an appeal is
9 taken to a court of proper jurisdiction in the manner prescribed
10 by law.
11 (c) Penalty.--Any person who violates this act or the rules
12 and regulations of the department, or who fails or neglects to
13 pay the fees provided in this act, commits a summary offense and
14 shall, upon conviction, for the first offense be sentenced to
15 pay a fine of not more than $100 and costs, and for each
16 subsequent offense be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
17 $200 and costs. Any person who continues to operate an antique
18 boiler for display and demonstration purposes after notice to
19 discontinue its use, as set forth in section 5, shall be fined
20 $5 for each day the antique boiler has been so operated after
21 the service of notice, in addition to the fines set forth in
22 this subsection.
23 (d) Fines.--All fines collected under this act shall be
24 forwarded to the department, which shall transmit the fines to
25 the State Treasurer through the Department of Revenue.
26 Section 10. Repeals.
27 The act of May 2, 1929 (P.L.1513, No.451), entitled, as
28 amended, "An act regulating the construction, equipment,
29 maintenance, operation and inspection of boilers and unfired
30 pressure vessels; granting certain authority to and imposing
19880H2279B3025 - 6 -
1 certain duties upon the Department of Labor and Industry;
2 providing penalties for violations of this act; and repealing
3 all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act," is
4 repealed insofar as it is inconsistent with this act.
5 Section 11. Effective date.
6 This act shall take effect immediately.
C10L43RDG/19880H2279B3025 - 7 -