KRS § 236.110 Inspection of boilers and pressure vessels required -- Certificate of inspection -- Periods of inspection -- Penalty for falsifying certificate of inspection.

236.110 Inspection of boilers and pressure vessels required -- Certificate of inspection -- Periods of inspection -- Penalty for falsifying certificate of inspection. (1) Each boiler or pressure vessel used or proposed to be used within this state, except boilers or pressure vessels exempt under KRS 236.060, shall be thoroughly inspected as to their construction, installation, and condition as follows: (a) Power boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection annually which shall be an internal inspection where construction permits; otherwise it shall be as complete an inspection as possible. Such boilers shall also be externally inspected while under pressure if possible; (b) Low pressure steam or vapor heating boilers, hot water heating boilers, and hot water supply boilers shall receive a certificate of inspection biennially; said inspection shall include internal inspection where construction permits. External inspections shall be required where construction does not permit internal inspection; (c) Pressure vessels shall be inspected at time of installation to ascertain that they are in conformance with KRS 236.040. Subsequent reinspections, if any, shall be set by administrative regulation of the department; (d) A grace period of two (2) months beyond the periods specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection may elapse between inspections; (e) The department may at its discretion permit longer periods between inspections; (f) All new boiler or pressure vessel installations to be used within this state, excepting boilers or pressure vessels exempted under KRS 236.060, shall be inspected during the installation period to ascertain that all pressure piping conforms to the requirements of KRS 236.040. A certificate of inspection may not be issued on any new installation until these requirements are fulfilled; (g) It shall be the responsibility of the installing contractor to request the above inspection by notifying the boiler inspection section that the installation is ready for inspection. Notification shall be accomplished prior to covering of any welded or mechanical joints on pressure piping or valves by insulation, paint, or structural materials. The contractor shall provide ready access for the inspector to all parts of the piping system; (h) Inspection of pressure piping shall apply only to new boiler, pressure vessel, or new pressure piping system installations, or reinstallations, or installation of secondhand boilers (as defined under "Boiler Rules and Regulations"). No annual or biennial reinspection shall be required once the system has been approved; (i) "Existing installations," as applied to inspection of piping systems is defined as any boiler and piping system completed and approved for operation prior to July 1, 1970, or pressure vessels and associated piping systems completed and approved for operation prior to July 15, 1980. These existing installations shall not be subject to the foregoing piping inspection unless adjudged patently unsafe for operation by a boiler inspector holding a commission issued by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, or by an owner's piping inspector, when authorized. If an existing installation is so adjudged, the owner or user shall be granted full rights of appeal as set forth under KRS 236.150; (j) If an existing installation undergoes extensive overhaul or more than fifty (50) linear feet of pressure piping requires renewal or is added to the existing system, the entire system of piping carrying pressure emanating from the boilers shall be subject to inspection and shall be brought up to standards required by KRS 236.040; (k) The installing contractor of a piping system carrying pressure emanating from a boiler or pressure vessel subject to inspection under provisions of this chapter, shall pay to the department, upon completion of inspection, fees in accordance with a schedule established by the department; (l) Operation of a pressure piping system in conjunction with a boiler or pressure vessel, either of which has not been inspected and approved as set forth above, shall be subject to fines and penalties as set forth in KRS 236.990; and (m) For any boiler or pressure vessel used by a utility to generate power, and operating under a certificate issued pursuant to KRS 278.020, if the boiler or pressure vessel is inspected by a special boiler inspector pursuant to this section, the inspection interval shall be extended to eighteen (18) months. (2) The inspections required in this section shall be made by a boiler inspector or by a special boiler inspector, except that all new installations shall be inspected by a boiler inspector employed by the department. However, an owner's piping inspector may inspect new, repaired, and replaced ASME standard process piping. (3) If at any time a hydrostatic, pneumatic, or any other nondestructive test shall be deemed necessary for ascertaining acceptability of a boiler, pressure vessel, or associated piping, the same shall be made by the contractor or owner-user, whoever is responsible for the condition, and be witnessed by a boiler inspector, special boiler inspector, or owner's piping inspector in authorized locations. (4) All boilers to be installed in this state after July 1, 1970, and all pressure vessels installed in this state after July 15, 1980, shall be inspected during construction as required by the applicable rules and regulations of the department by a boiler inspector authorized to inspect boilers and pressure vessels in this state, or, if constructed outside of the state, by an inspector holding a commission from the national board as an inspector of boilers and pressure vessels. (5) No person shall willfully falsify any statement designed to secure the issuance, renewal or reinstatement of a certificate of inspection. Violation of this subsection shall subject such a person to the penalties stated in KRS 236.990. Effective:June 29, 2017 History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 94, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 12, effective July 12, 2012. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 524, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 207, sec. 12, effective July 15, 1980. -- Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 384, sec. 98, effective June 17, 1978. -- Amended 1970 Ky. Acts ch. 246, sec. 5. -- Created 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 11.