HEALTH & SAFETY


new code aims to boost cleaning safety


Under pressUre


or colleagues in the work area. Technology has advanced rapidly, not least


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because pressure washing is such a useful process: it is used at thousands of industrial sites across the UK every day to clean and degrease machinery, clean floors and decontaminate production vessels. The Water Jetting Association (WJA) is now


launching a new pressure washing code of practice to help ensure operational and safety measures are aligned with these advances in capability. The need is urgent. Many operatives do not


receive structured training, do not use the right PPE, and are unaware of the hazards they face. Injuries that can be caused during pressure washing have some specific characteristics that can make them particularly dangerous.


ressure washing has become so commonplace that many businesses are not taking nearly enough precautions to protect their operatives


the water Jetting association is about to launch a new code of practice for pressure washing. wJa president John Jones explains why it is urgently needed.


4th degree burns


Here is a real example. An experienced pressure washing operative was using a steam pressure washer to clear a frozen drain. As he pulled the hose from the pipe, he lost control of it and the water jet cut through his boot, filling it with 1100C water at 207 bar (3,000 psi), travelling at 440 miles per hour, or 198 metres per second. The incident lasted less than three seconds.


But the operative suffered fourth degree burns. Skin and tissue was torn from the bone. After emergency surgery, he needed many further surgical operations as continued efforts were made to rebuild his foot. It is just one of many pressure washing injuries. In another, a dockyard operative slipped due to the unexpected power of a water jet, allowing the nozzle to swipe across his supervisor, lacerating his upper thigh. Again, urgent and extensive hospital treatment was needed. The easy access to pressure


washing equipment in the home can lull people into a false sense of security. Those who operate pressure washers in shorts and flipflops to clean cars and drives cannot understand the risks they are taking when water pressures can reach 2,500 psi (170 bar).


34 marcH/april 2022 | indUstrial compliance Colour purple for safety


The Water Jetting Association (WJA)’s new pressure washing code of practice is designed to address this. It lays out, in plain terms, the steps that need to be taken to optimise the safe use of low pressure water jetting equipment. It also explains why these steps are important and what needs to be done if something does go wrong. The WJA, founded in 1980, is the UK’s trade


body for the water jetting industry. We follow international NACE standards that divide water jetting into four bands of pressure:


‘Low pressure water cleaning’ describes activities for water pressures up to 207 bar or 3,000 psi.


‘High pressure water cleaning’ covers water jetting above 207 bar and up to 608 bar, or 10,000 psi.


‘High pressure water jetting’ defines water jetting above 608 bar and up to 1,700 bar, or 25,000 psi.


‘Ultra-high pressure water jetting’ describes all water jetting activity above 1,700 bar.


The WJA already has two codes of practice –


the Blue Code for high pressure and ultra-high pressure water jetting, and the Red Code for water jetting used for drain and sewer cleaning.


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