Receptacles or Electrical Panels Near Eyewash Stations

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north star

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@ ~ @


Greetings all !

I am asking these questions again, because I have been asked
to provide some clarity.

I DID read a lot of the archived topics & discussions on here
regarding Receptacles & Electrical Panels located near Eye
Wash Stations, whether they were located indoors or outdoors.

Some on this Forum stated that since an Eye Wash Station has
a bowl and a drain on it, it would require GCI protection within
6 ft. [ RE: 210.8(B)(5), `08 NEC ].

SCENARIO:
I have some Eye Wash Stations located indoors and some outdoors.
They DO have a bowl with a drain to the floor, not a drainage
system.......Most of them are currently located near non-GFCI
protected receptacles, and none have a weatherproof cover on
any of them.

QUESTION # 1:
Are Receptacles located near these Eye Wash Stations "required"
to have GFCI protection ?......Either by the NEC, ANSI, or OSHA
or other recognized Standard ?.......If so, can you please cite
the applicable Section or Sections ?

QUESTION # 2:
If Receptacles ARE required to be GFCI protected, what is the
radius dimension that requires GFCI protection ?

QUESTION # 3:
I accept that the Eye Wash Station located outdoors near
receptacles; even if under a canopy \ awning, should be GFCI
protected and have weatherproof covers on them.......Are
Indoor locations within a XXX radius "required" to have GFCI
protection & a weatherproof cover on them ?

Thank you for your indulgence ? :cool:


@ ~ @
 
I don't see an eye wash station meeting any of the requirements on 210.8 so IMO no GFCI protection is required.
 
north star said:
Some on this Forum stated that since an Eye Wash Station has
a bowl and a drain on it, it would require GCI protection within
6 ft. [ RE: 210.8(B)(5), `08 NEC ].
Click to expand...

I am willing to bet that the plumbing code does not define a eyewash station as a sink, the NEC does not define it and the common definition is ambiguous.

Is a hole in the bottom of a basin a drain or does it need to be plumbed into the sanitary waste in order to be a drain.

But that said ...... GFCIs are cheap so is it worth the time to talk about it?

&%@>^*+#!
 
% = = = =%


Thanks **infinity** and **iwire** for your replies !

In my efforts to provide accurate information to those that
have asked me for assistance, I would like to present them
with the "Letter" of the NEC, or OSHA first.......If they
decide to discuss the affordability aspects of it, that will be
up to them.

Both of you have confirmed my initial thoughts, that while
not required [ i.e. - by the Letter of the Code ], ...it would
be cheap protection to add.

Do you, or any others have a realistic radius to apply, ...2 ft.,
...6 ft., ...8 ft., ...10 ft., other ?

Thanks ! :D



% = = = =%
 
A weather resistant GFCI is about $15.00 plus $8.00 for a WPIU cover. Installation is about 15 minutes. Your documentation and review by mgmt will take much longer.
As far as standards go, I can tell you the NEC has required GFCI for outdoor, 15 and 20 amp, 125 volt receptacles since 2008.
Also the 2017 NEC requires GFCI for any wet location receptacle located indoors.
 
tom baker said:
Also the 2017 NEC requires GFCI for any wet location receptacle located indoors.
Click to expand...
But do we have a wet location?

Eyewash station typically is not intended to be used for "normal situations". Dry locations can be temporarily wet or damp during abnormal conditions.
 
north star said:
# # #


Once again, I will ask the question, what is a realistic radius dimension;
around the Eye Rinse Stations, that [ might ] be considered as a Wet Location ? :blink:


# # #
Click to expand...

It gets tedious repeating, but theoretically there is no required radius at all, since even the interior of the eyewash station is not a wet location unless it is tested regularly.
If you or the AHJ cannot accept that, then look at how far you can reasonably expect water to splash while the station is in "normal" use.
Someone could fill up a bucket from the eyewash and throw the water on the wall 20 feet away, but that does not make that wall a wet location!
 
jm2c here, which has no basis on the NEC, OSHA, etc.

Eyewash and shower stations are used in an "oh ****" situation. Those using them may not be aware or care about receptacles or gear in the vicinity. I wouldnt worry so much about GFCI protection as making sure anything plugged in in no way obstructs a path to the station (e.g., an extension cord being a trip hazard).

While the shower may never be used, they are supposed to be tested (monthly?). I would install in use covers on any receptacles nearby and GFCI protection, even if not required by the NEC or OSHA. There is nothing wrong with building over minimum spec, code, rules, or guidelines.

"tom baker
A weather resistant GFCI is about $15.00 plus $8.00 for a WPIU cover. Installation is about 15 minutes. Your documentation and review by mgmt will take much longer."

Agreed. If we're talking one or two showers and the same # of receptacles, it should already have been done. A few hundred over numerous facilities, I can see where the question becomes more important.

And lets say for argument's sake that the monthly test has been done, and there is water everywhere, and maintenance goes to plug in a power tool in the nearby receptacle, while standing in water, and there's a fault, and no GFCI. Or someone gets acid or caustic in their eyes, makes it to the station, and gets the lights knocked out of them because there is a cut extension cord nearby that is now wet.

I take a surly and dim view of industrial safety because in many cases, the safeguards that are supposed to be in place are antiquated, missing, inadequate, or inoperable.

I used to work at wastewater treatment plants, which have just about every hazard known to man. Safety and safety training are paramount to me because at the end of the day, everyone wants to go home in the same condition they arrived.
 
north star said:
# # #


Once again, I will ask the question, what is a realistic radius dimension;
around the Eye Rinse Stations, that [ might ] be considered as a Wet Location ? :blink:


# # #
Click to expand...

The area where the buiding code requires the construction methods to be wet location materials. In other words in most cases it is not a wet location.
 
north star said:
# # #


Once again, I will ask the question, what is a realistic radius dimension;
around the Eye Rinse Stations, that [ might ] be considered as a Wet Location ? :blink:


# # #
Click to expand...
Might be a wet location. Even in a kitchen or bathroom you have sinks or basins with dry location electrical components in close proximity. An occasional splash doesn't necessarily make it a wet or damp location. A dish washing sink in a commercial kitchen that uses a hand held sprayer and regularly gets splashing in the sink vicinity might very well be considered a wet location, but it is more of a judgement call AFAIK where the boundary of the wet location may be.
 
kwired said:
Might be a wet location. Even in a kitchen or bathroom you have sinks or basins with dry location electrical components in close proximity. An occasional splash doesn't necessarily make it a wet or damp location. A dish washing sink in a commercial kitchen that uses a hand held sprayer and regularly gets splashing in the sink vicinity might very well be considered a wet location, but it is more of a judgement call AFAIK where the boundary of the wet location may be.
Click to expand...

So in your view if a homeowner had a sink with an spray hose extender it would be within the electrical inspector judgment to say the receptacles beside the sink are in a wet location?


In my opinion if the receptacle is in wall made of, say drywall that it cannot be a wet location.
 
iwire said:
So in your view if a homeowner had a sink with an spray hose extender it would be within the electrical inspector judgment to say the receptacles beside the sink are in a wet location?


In my opinion if the receptacle is in wall made of, say drywall that it cannot be a wet location.
Click to expand...
I agree with your opinion, after reading what I wrote I can see some possible misunderstanding. There are receptacles right next to sinks all over the place. The diswashing sink in a commercial kitchen I mentioned was just one example I have seen where water seems to go everywhere at times, but they also usually have water resistant covering on the walls in immediate vicinity for good reason.
 
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