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This website publishes administrative rules on their effective dates, as designated by the adopting state agencies, colleges, and universities.

Chapter 4123:1-11 | Laundering and Drycleaning

 
 
 
Rule
Rule 4123:1-11-01 | Scope and definitions.
 

(A) Scope.

The purpose of these safety requirements is to provide reasonable safety for life, limb and health of employees. In cases of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, the Ohio bureau of workers' compensation may grant exceptions from the literal provisions of these requirements or permit the use of other devices or methods when, in the opinion of the superintendent of the division of safety and hygiene, equivalent protection is thereby secured.

These specific requirements supplement Chapter 4123:1-5 of the Administrative Code, "Specific Safety Requirements of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Relating to All Workshops and Factories," and are minimum requirements of an employer for the protection of such employer's employees and no others and apply to places of employment wherein laundering or drycleaning processes are performed.

Installations or constructions built or contracted for prior to the effective date of any requirement shall be deemed to comply with the provisions of these requirements if such installations or constructions comply either with the provisions of these requirements or with the provisions of any applicable specific requirement which was in effect at the time contracted for or built.

(B) Definitions.

(1) "Air contaminants," as used in this rule, means hazardous concentrations of fibrosis-producing toxic dusts, toxic fumes, toxic mists, toxic vapors, or toxic gases, or a combination of these, suspended in the atmosphere.

(2) "Approved" means accepted or certified by a nationally recognized testing agency, such as "Underwriters' Laboratories," "Factory Mutual Engineering Corporation," or a responsible governmental agency.

(3) "Centrifugal extractor" means a machine used for removing moisture from textile articles by centrifugal action.

(4) "Drycleaning" means the process of removing dirt, grease, paints, and other stains from such items as wearing apparel, textiles, fabrics, and rugs by the use of nonaqueous liquids (solvents, nonwater based).

(5) "Drying box or cabinet" means a heated, stationary enclosure used for drying, smoothing, or finishing textile articles.

(6) "Flammable liquid" means a liquid having a closed cup flashpoint below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (thirty-eight degrees Celsius) Flammable liquids are further categorized into a group known as class I liquids. The class I category is subdivided as follows:

(a) "Class IA" are liquids having a flashpoint below seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit (twenty-three degrees Celsius) and having a boiling point below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (thirty-eight degrees Celsius.)

(b) "Class IB" are liquids having a flashpoint below seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit (twenty-three degrees Celsius) and having a boiling point at or above one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (thirty-eight degrees Celsius.)

(c) "Class IC" are liquids having a flashpoint at or above seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit (twenty-three degrees Celsius) and below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (thirty-eight degrees Celsius.)

(7) "Guard" means the covering, fencing, railing, or enclosure which shields an object from accidental contact.

(8) "Guarded" means that the object is covered, fenced, railed, enclosed or otherwise shielded from accidental contact.

(9) "Ironer" means a machine with one or more rolls or heated surfaces used for drying, ironing, or smoothing textile articles.

(10) "Laundry press" or "drycleaning press" means a machine on which textile articles are dried or finished between two surfaces pressed together.

(11) "Nonflammable liquid" means any liquid or mixture of liquids which in its original state, or after continued use or agitation, or by distillation, will not burn in a closed cup tester, or which in any state, when mixed with air, gives off vapors which are noncombustible or nonexplosive.

(12) "Operator" means any employee assigned or authorized to work at the specific equipment.

(13) "Puff iron" means a heated device for smoothing or shaping textile articles.

(14) "Shall" is to be construed as mandatory.

(15) "Squeeze extractor" means any mechanically, pneumatically, or hydraulically operated compacting machine for removing excess liquid from textile articles by squeezing.

(16) "Still" means an appliance that receives contaminated flammable or combustible liquids or vapors and which distills the contents to remove contaminants and recover the solvents in the drycleaning process.

(17) "Substantial" means construction or such strength, of such materials, and of such workmanship that the object will withstand the wear, usage or shock for which it is designed.

(18) "Tumbler" means a machine in which textile articles are shaken out or dried by tumbling within a rotating cylinder.

(19) "Washer/extractor" means any machine in which the washing and extraction operations are performed.

(20) "Wringer" means one or more power-driven rolls used for removing excess liquid.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4121.12, 4121.121, 4121.13, Const. Art. II, Section 35
Amplifies: 4121.13
Five Year Review Date: 1/1/2025
Rule 4123:1-11-02 | General requirements.
 

(A) Extractors.

(1) Centrifugal extractors.

(a) A centrifugal extractor or washer/extractor shall be equipped with an interlock that will disconnect the current to the drive motor and prevent starting rotation of the cylinder when the access door to the machine is open, but will not prevent the operator from inching the machine with the access door open. The interlock shall further prevent opening of the access door or cover while the cylinder is rotating.

(b) A centrifugal extractor or washer/extractor shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations so as to minimize any transmittal of vibration to adjacent areas, and it shall not be operated in excess of the maximum speed which shall be shown on the machine nameplate.

(2) Squeeze extractor.

A squeeze extractor shall be provided with a cover and interlock to prevent unloading the machine unless the pressure has been released and also to prevent applying pressure unless the cover has been properly closed. A steam, hydraulically or pneumatically operated device shall be provided with a safety pressure relief valve.

(3) Extractors used in drycleaning with flammable solvents shall be equipped with a cover and basket rim of nonferrous metal or other nonsparking material.

(B) Drying equipment.

(1) Tumblers.

(a) A tumbler shall be equipped with an interlock that will prevent energizing the drive motor unless the shell door is closed, but will allow for the inching of the tumbler during loading and unloading.

(b) A tumbler shall be provided with means to prevent accidental self-closing of the shell door during loading and unloading of the machine; however, this requirement does not apply to side-hinged doors that tend to remain open.

(c) These requirements do not apply to tumblers designed without doors, where the work is continuously loaded and discharged.

(2) Drying box or cabinet.

A drying box or cabinet shall have door latches or locks that will enable an operator to open the doors readily from the inside and the outside.

(C) Finishing equipment.

(1) Ironers.

(a) An iron shall be equipped with a safety bar across the entire length of the feed roll or shoe so arranged that the striking of the bar will stop the machine.

(b) Hazardous nip points and the uncovered heated surface of an iron shall be guarded.

(2) Laundry presses and drycleaning presses.

Laundry presses and drycleaning presses, excluding hand- or foot-powered presses, shall be equipped with:

(a) A control device requiring concurrent use of both hands until the press has closed, and

(b) A release mechanism within easy reach of the operator that will instantly open the press; or

(c) Other means that will provide equivalent or greater protection.

(3) Puff iron.

The working surface of each puff iron when not in use shall be covered with at least one thickness of double-faced flannel and suitable smooth cover cloth or equivalent.

(4) Spreaders, feeders, folders, and stackers.

Spreaders, feeders, folders, and stackers shall be equipped with emergency stop buttons or bars within easy reach of the operator.

(5) Steam/air finishing equipment.

Tunnel-type equipment which provides access for an employee to enter shall have door latches or locks that will enable an operator to open the doors readily from the inside and the outside. A means to shut off all power to the system shall be provided, capable of being actuated by an employee from anywhere inside the cabinet.

(D) Miscellaneous equipment.

(1) Marking machines.

A marking machine shall be equipped with one of the following:

(a) A spring compression device designed to prevent injury to fingers caught between the marking plunger and the platen;

(b) A two-hand control;

(c) A barrier guard designed to prevent contact with the marking plunger;

(d) Other equivalent protection.

(2) Sewing machines.

A sewing machine shall be equipped with a guard permanently attached to the machine so that the operator's fingers cannot pass under the needle. The guard shall be of such design that the needle can be conveniently threaded without removing the guard.

(3) Packaging machines.

Packaging and tying machines shall be guarded to avoid accidental hitting of the operator or any other employee by rotating or moving components of the machine.

(4) Steam pipes.

All steam pipes exposed to contact seven feet or less from the floor or working platform shall be insulated or covered with a heat-resistive material or shall be otherwise guarded.

(5) Stopping devices.

Each power driven machine shall be provided with a power disconnect device so located as to be operable from the front of the machine.

(6) Drycleaning machines and drying tumblers.

Drycleaning machines and drying tumblers shall be grounded.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By:
Amplifies:
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 4/1/1964
Rule 4123:1-11-03 | Laundering.
 

(A) Washing machines.

(1) A washing machine shall be equipped with an interlock that will disconnect the current to the drive motor and prevent starting rotation of the cylinder when the access door to the machine is open, but will not prevent the operator from inching the machine with the access door open.

(2) A washing machine or washer/extractor shall be provided with a means to prevent accidental self-closing of the shell or cylinder doors during loading or unloading of the machine; however, this requirement does not apply to side-hinged or over-the-center doors that tend to remain open.

(B) Wringers.

A wringer shall be equipped with a safety bar or other guard across the entire front of the feed or first pressure rolls, so arranged that the striking of the bar or guard will stop the machine.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By:
Amplifies:
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 4/1/1964
Rule 4123:1-11-04 | Drycleaning.
 

(A) Electrical equipment.

All electrical equipment shall be located outside the drycleaning room or be of an approved type for hazardous locations when any flammable liquid with a flash point below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) is used for drycleaning.

(B) Stills and condensers.

Stills and condensers shall be of substantial construction, mounted on fire-resistive foundations and shall be of a type which will not expose the fluid or vapor to the atmosphere outside the still or condenser during any part of the process of reclamation.

(C) Brushing and prespotting.

(1) Brushing and prespotting operations with flammable liquid solvents shall be performed in a drycleaning room, on a brushing table or in a tub.

(2) Flammable liquid solvents used for brushing or prespotting shall be stored in approved portable safety containers.

(D) Drycleaning with nonflammable liquid solvents.

(1) Where nonflammable solvents giving off air contaminants are used for drycleaning in quantities of more than one gallon, such operations shall be performed in fluid-tight machines, systems or apparatus.

(2) Such apparatus shall be vented to the open air at a point no less than twenty-five feet from any window or other openings, and so used and operated to prevent the escape of air contaminants therefrom into the workrooms and work spaces.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4121.12, 4121.121, 4121.13, Const. Art. II, Sec. 35
Amplifies: 4121.13
Five Year Review Date: 1/1/2025