Work in Compressed Air Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations –

“the 1996 Regulations” means the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1);

“airlock” means an enclosed space capable of being pressurised and which is used for the compression or decompression of any person or any material when such person or material is passing into or, as the case may be, out of a working chamber;

“appointed doctor” means a registered medical practitioner appointed for the time being in writing by the Executive for the purposes of these Regulations;

“approved” means approved for the time being in writing for the purposes of these Regulations;

“compressed air contractor” means a person appointed under regulation 5;

“contract medical adviser” means a registered medical practitioner appointed under paragraph (1) of regulation 9 and who is competent to give the advice referred to in that paragraph;

“decanting” means the rapid decompression in an airlock to atmospheric pressure followed promptly by rapid compression in an alternative airlock and subsequent gradual decompression to atmospheric pressure;

“employment medical adviser” means an employment medical adviser appointed under Article 48 of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;

“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland;

“project” means a project which includes work in compressed air;

“work in compressed air” means work within any working chamber, airlock or decompression chamber which (in each case) is used for the compression or decompression of persons, including a medical lock used solely for treatment purposes, the pressure of which exceeds 0·15 bar;

“working chamber” means an enclosed space in which work is carried out and which is accessible only through an airlock.

(2) Any reference to pressure in bar means that pressure above the surrounding atmospheric pressure.

(1)

S.R. 1996 No. 510, as amended by S.R. 1997 No. 229, S.R. 1999 No. 150, S.R. 1999 No. 304, S.R. 1999 No. 305 and S.R. 2000 No. 388