Automotive paint spray booth safety — How a paint booth makes a dangerous operation less so

The paper that is being proposing to present will describe, in detail, the Certification process of Auto Body Shop-style paint spray booths (PSB's), found in almost all auto body shops, and the differences between those PSB's that carry a third party certification will differ greatly from the PSB's that do not carry any such certification. It will also describe the methods that previously certified booths will need to be re-inspected, and will also identify the common methods in which a certified booth can be made to operate such that it is in violation of applicable codes and standards, such as those written by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), OSHA, and even state and local codes. This paper will be written to be of interest to industrial risk insurers with customers in the automotive field, electrical, mechanical, and fire inspectors, codes compliance officers, certification authorities, and even manufacturers of this equipment and within the vicinity of this equipment. The paper and presentation will describe the common pitfalls found during our evaluations, and will provide evidence as to why the safety standards have been written to address these very special products, which have warranted their own article in both the National Electrical Code, and the Canadian Electrical Code. Also described in the article will be the different types of hazards — electrical, mechanical, and physical — that are typically found in paint spray booths, mixing rooms, and related operations. This paper will not be a complete certification checklist, but will outline the basic premises used by Intertek in the certification of paint spray booths.