89.1 Authority.

The labor commissioner shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and may employ qualified personnel under the provisions of chapter 19A to administer the provisions of this chapter.

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all boilers and unfired steam pressure vessels in this state, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

89.10 Penalty.

Any person or persons, corporations and directors, managers and superintendents, and officers thereof, violating any of the provisions of this chapter, shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.

89.11 Injunction.

In addition to any and all other remedies, if any owner, user, or person in charge of any equipment covered by this chapter, shall continue to use any equipment covered by this chapter, after receiving a notice of defect as provided by this chapter, without first correcting said defects or making replacements, the commissioner of labor may apply to the district court or any judge thereof by petition in equity, in an action brought in the name of the state, for a writ of injunction to restrain the use of said alleged defective equipment.

89.12 Hearing--notice--decree.

The commissioner shall notify in writing the owner or user of the equipment of the time and place of hearing of the petition as fixed by the court or judge, and shall serve the notice on the defendant at least five days prior to the hearing in the same manner as original notices are served. The general provisions relating to civil practice and procedure as may be applicable, shall govern the proceedings, except as herein modified. In the event the defendant does not appear or plead to the action, default shall be entered against the defendant. The action shall be tried in equity, and the court or judge shall make such order or decree as the evidence warrants.

89.13 Civil penalty allowed.

If upon notice and hearing the commissioner determines that an owner has operated a facility in violation of a safety order, the commissioner may assess a civil penalty against the owner in an amount not exceeding five hundred dollars, as determined by the commissioner. An order assessing a civil penalty is subject to appeal to the employment appeal board and to judicial review. The commissioner may commence an action in the district court to enforce payment of a civil penalty. Revenue from the penalty provided in this section shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the state.

89.2 Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Boiler" means a vessel in which water or other liquids are heated, steam or other vapors are generated, steam or other vapors are superheated, or any combination thereof, under pressure or vacuum by the direct application of heat.

2. "Commissioner" means the labor commissioner or the labor commissioner's designee.

3. "Exhibition boiler" means a boiler which is operated in the state for nonprofit purposes including, but not limited to, exhibitions, fairs, parades, farm machinery shows, or any other event of an historical or educational nature. An "exhibition boiler" includes steam locomotives, traction and portable steam engines, and stationary boilers of the firetube, watertube, and returntube class, model or miniature, and may be riveted, riveted and welded, or all welded construction, if used within the state solely for nonprofit purposes.

4. "Place of public assembly" means any building or portion of a building designed, intended, and used for occupation by persons for purposes of entertainment, instruction, or amusement and shall include theaters, motion picture theaters, hospitals, places of worship, schools, colleges, and institutions of health and custodial care, but does not include eating and drinking establishments.

5. "Power boiler" means a boiler in which steam or other vapor is generated at a pressure of more than fifteen pounds per square inch or a water boiler intended for operation at pressures in excess of one hundred sixty pounds per square inch or temperatures in excess of 250 degrees F.

6. "Special inspector" means an inspector who holds a commission from the commissioner and who is not a state employee.

7. "Steam heating boiler" means a boiler operating at not more than fifteen pounds per square inch; or a hot water heating boiler operating at not more than one hundred sixty pounds per square inch and not more than 250 degrees F. at the boiler outlet.

8. "Unfired steam pressure vessel" means a vessel or container used for the containment of steam pressure either internal or external in which the pressure is obtained from an external source.

89.3 Inspection made--certificate.

1. It shall be the duty of the commissioner, to inspect or cause to be inspected internally and externally, at least once every twelve months, except as otherwise provided in this section, in order to determine whether all such equipment is in a safe and satisfactory condition, and properly constructed and maintained for the purpose for which it is used, all boilers and unfired steam pressure vessels operating in excess of fifteen pounds per square inch, all low pressure heating boilers and unfired steam pressure vessels located in places of public assembly and other appurtenances used in this state for generating or transmitting steam for power, or for using steam under pressure for heating or steaming purposes.

2. The commissioner may enter any building or structure, public or private, for the purpose of inspecting any equipment covered by this chapter or gathering information with reference thereto.

3. Upon making an inspection of any equipment covered by this chapter, the commissioner shall issue to the owner or user thereof a certificate of inspection which certificate shall be posted at a place near the location of the equipment.

4. The owner or user of any equipment covered in this chapter, or persons in charge of same, shall not allow or permit a greater pressure in any unit than is stated in the certificate of inspection issued by the commissioner.

5. The commissioner may inspect boilers and tanks and other equipment stamped with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers code symbol for other than steam pressure, manufactured in Iowa, when requested by the manufacturer.

6. Each boiler of one hundred thousand pounds per hour or more capacity, unfired steam pressure vessel or regulated appurtenance used or proposed to be used within this state, which contains only water subject to internal continuous water treatment under the direct supervision of a graduate engineer or chemist, or one having equivalent experience in the treatment of boiler water where the water treatment is for the purpose of controlling and limiting serious corrosion and other deteriorating factors, and with respect to which vessel the commissioner has determined that the owner or user has complied with the record-keeping requirements prescribed in this chapter, shall be inspected at least once every two years internally and externally while not under pressure, and at least once every two years externally while under pressure. At any time a hydrostatic test is deemed necessary to determine the safety of a vessel, the tests shall be conducted by the owner or user of the equipment under the supervision of the commissioner.

7. The owner or user of a boiler of one hundred thousand pounds per hour or more capacity, unfired steam pressure vessel or regulated appurtenance desiring to qualify for biennial inspection shall keep available for examination by the commissioner accurate records showing the date and actual time the vessel is out of service and the reason it is out of service, and the chemical physical laboratory analyses of samples of the vessel water taken at regular intervals of not more than forty-eight hours of operation as will adequately show the condition of the water and any elements or characteristics of the water which are capable of producing corrosion or other deterioration of the vessel or its parts.

8. Internal inspections of sectional cast iron steam and cast iron hot water heating boilers shall be conducted only as deemed necessary by the commissioner. External operating inspections shall be conducted annually.

9. Internal inspections of steel hot water boilers shall be conducted once every six years. The initial inspection of all affected boilers shall be apportioned by the commissioner over the six-year period after July 1, 1978. External operating inspections shall be conducted annually.

10. Internal inspections of unfired steam pressure vessels operating in excess of fifteen pounds per square inch shall be conducted once every two years. External inspections shall be conducted annually. An internal inspection of an unfired steam pressure vessel may be required at any time by the commissioner upon the observation by an inspector of conditions, enumerated by the commissioner through rules, warranting an internal inspection.

11. All power boilers that are converted to low pressure boilers shall have a fifteen pound safety valve installed and be approved by the commissioner no later than thirty days after the expiration date of the certificate for the boiler.

12. An exhibition boiler does not require an annual inspection certificate but special inspections may be requested by the owner or an event's management to be performed by the commissioner. Upon the completion of an exhibition boiler inspection a written condition report shall be prepared by the commissioner regarding the condition of the exhibition boiler's boiler or pressure vessel. This report will be issued to the owner and the management of all events at which the exhibition boiler is to be operated. The event's management is responsible for the decision on whether the exhibition boiler should be operated and shall inform the division of labor of the event's management's decision. The event's management is responsible for any injuries which result from the operation of any exhibition boiler approved for use at the event by the event's management. A repair symbol, known as the "R" stamp, is not required for repairs made to exhibition boilers pursuant to the rules regarding inspections and repair of exhibition boilers as adopted by the commissioner, pursuant to chapter 17A.

89.4 Exemptions.

1. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following boilers:

a. Boilers of railway locomotives subject to federal inspection.

b. Boilers operated and regularly inspected by railway companies operating in interstate commerce.

c. Boilers under the jurisdiction and subject to inspection by the United States government.

d. Steam heating boilers and unfired steam pressure vessels associated therewith and mobile power boilers used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

e. Heating boilers in residences.

f. Fire engine boilers brought into the state for temporary use in times of emergency.

g. Low pressure heating boilers used in buildings other than those for public assembly.

h. Hot water heating boilers used for heating pools or spas where burner input is no greater than eighteen thousand seven hundred seventy-two British thermal units per hour.

2. Unfired steam pressure vessels not exceeding the following limitations are not required to be reported to the commissioner and shall be exempt from regular inspection under provisions of this chapter:

a. A vessel not greater than five cubic feet in volume and not having a pressure greater than two hundred fifty pounds per square inch.

b. A vessel not greater than one and one-half cubic feet in volume with no limit on pressure.

3. Internal inspections shall not be required on unfired steam pressure vessels where they have been manufactured without inspection plate and where it would be necessary for them to be drilled in order to be inspected. The existence of such unfired pressure vessels shall be reported to the commissioner, and certified by the commissioner that the unfired pressure vessel is in a satisfactory condition for the purpose for which it is used.

4. Jacketed direct or indirect fired vessels built and installed in accordance with the American society of mechanical engineers code, section VIII, division 1, appendix 19, shall not be considered boilers or power boilers for purposes of this chapter and shall not be required to meet the American society of mechanical engineers standard for controls and safety devices for automatically fired boilers. However, jacketed direct or indirect fired vessels as described in this subsection shall be subject to inspection under section 89.3 as pressure vessels.

89.5 Rules--records.

1. The commissioner may prescribe rules under the provisions of chapter 17A, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, including rules for the methods of testing equipment and construction and installation of new equipment covered by this chapter, and the rules shall, as nearly as possible, conform to the rules formulated by the boiler code committee of the American society of mechanical engineers.

2. The commissioner shall investigate and record the cause of any boiler explosion that may occur in the state, the loss of life, injuries sustained, and estimated loss of property, if any; and such other data as may be of benefit in preventing a recurrence of similar explosions.

3. The commissioner shall keep a complete and accurate record of the name of the owner or user of each steam boiler or other equipment subject to this chapter, giving a full description of the equipment, including the type, dimensions, age, condition, the amount of pressure allowed, and the date when last inspected.

4. A rule adopted pursuant to this section which adopts standards by reference to another publication shall be exempt from the requirements of section 17A.6, subsection 4, if the following conditions exist:

a. The cost of the publication is an unreasonable expense when compared to the anticipated usage of the publication.

b. A copy of the publication is available from an entity located within the state capitol complex.

c. The rule identifies the location where the publication is available.

d. The administrative rules coordinator approves the exemption.

89.6 New boilers--notice to commissioner.

Before any equipment included under the provisions of this chapter is installed by any owner, user or lessee thereof, a ten days' written notice of intention to install the equipment shall be given to the commissioner. The notice shall designate the proposed place of installation, the type and capacity of the equipment, the use to be made thereof, the name of company which manufactured the equipment, and whether the equipment is new or used.

89.7 Insured equipment--certificate.

1. The inspection required by this chapter shall not be made by the commissioner if an owner or user of equipment specified by this chapter obtains an inspection by a representative of a reputable insurance company and obtains a policy of insurance upon the equipment from that insurance company. The representative conducting the inspection shall be commissioned by the commissioner as a special inspector for the year during which the inspection occurs and shall meet such other requirements as the commissioner may by rule establish. The commission shall be valid for one year and the special inspector shall pay a fee for the issuance of the commission. The commissioner shall establish the amount of the fee by rule. The commissioner shall establish rules for the issuance and revocation of special inspector commissions. The rules are subject to the requirements of chapter 17A.

2. The insurance company shall file a certificate of inspection on forms approved by the commissioner stating that the equipment is insured and that inspection shall be made in accordance with section 89.3.

3. Upon such showing and the payment of a fee, the commissioner shall issue a certificate of inspection by the division of labor services, which shall be valid only for the period specified in section 89.3. The commissioner shall establish the amount of the fee by rule.

4. The special inspector shall notify the user and the commissioner of any equipment or appurtenance found to be unsafe or unfit for operation in writing, setting forth the nature and extent of such defects and condition. The commissioner shall indicate to the user whether or not the equipment may be used without making repair or replacement of defective parts, or whether or how the equipment may be used in a limited capacity before repairs or replacements are made, and the commissioner may permit the user a reasonable time to make such repairs or replacements. The failure of a special inspector to inform the commissioner of violations shall not subject the commissioner to liability for any damages incurred.

89.8 Fees for inspection.

The commissioner shall adopt rules to charge and collect fees for inspection of boilers and pressure units by the boiler inspector. Fees may be set by rule not more than once each year. Fees established by the commissioner shall be based upon the costs of administering the provisions of this chapter, and shall give due regard to the time spent by personnel of the division of labor services in performing duties, and to any travel expenses incurred.

89.9 Disposal of fees.

All fees provided for in this chapter shall be collected by the commissioner and remitted to the treasurer of state, together with an itemized statement showing the source of collection.