[37 Pa.B. 2823]
[Saturday, June 23, 2007]
[Continued from previous Web Page] § 139.11. Accident reporting.
(a) Report required. [When an owner submits an accident report to the owner's insurance company, a copy of those reports which involve physical injuries or death to an individual as a result of the operation of an amusement ride or attraction shall be sent to the Department by the owner at the same time. The notice shall indicate the description of the amusement ride or attraction by which the injury or death occurred and the nature of the injuries or cause of death.] An owner or lessee shall file an accident report with the Department with respect to any accident which results in death or serious injury or illness as a result of the operation of an amusement ride or amusement attraction. The accident report form shall be faxed or delivered to the Department, at the address or fax number in § 139.14 (relating to contacting the Department), within 48 hours after the owner, lessee or operator is aware of the death, serious injury or illness.
(b) Accident report form. [When a serious injury, death or fire occurs as a result of the operation of an amusement ride or attraction, the operators shall immediately close the attraction or ride and the owner shall so notify the Department within a reasonable period of time. The attraction or ride may not be reused until it has been inspected, repaired or declared safe by a qualified inspector. In the event of death, the ride or attraction may not be reopened until declared safe by the insurance company of the owner. This declaration shall be in writing to the Department. In the case of a verbal declaration from the insurance carrier, a written declaration shall be submitted to the Department.] An accident report required under the act and this section shall be made on a form provided by the Department. The accident report form may be downloaded from the Department's website, or a supply of accident report forms may be obtained from the Department by request directed to the Department in accordance with § 139.14. The following information shall be included in an accident report:
(1) The name and address of the operator of the amusement ride or amusement attraction at which the death or serious injury or illness occurred.
(2) The name and address of the owner or lessee of the amusement ride or amusement attraction at which the death or serious injury or illness occurred.
(3) A description of the ride involved, including registration number, name of ride, manufacturer and manufacturer's serial number.
(4) A detailed description of the incident giving rise to the death or serious injury or illness.
(5) The name and address of the dead or injured person.
(6) A general summary of the apparent injuries sustained by each dead or injured person.
(7) The names and addresses of all known witnesses to the incident giving rise to the death or injury.
(8) The signature of the owner or lessee, verifying the accuracy of the injury report form subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 (relating to unsworn falsification to authorities).
(c) Duty of owner, lessee or operator to close ride or attraction pending reinspection. [Documents concerning accident reports, the disclosure of which may lead to the disclosure of the institution, progress or result of investigation undertaken by an agency in the performance of its official duties, may not be deemed public record under the act of June 18, 1984 (P. L. 384, No. 81) (65 P. S. § 66.1), known as the Right-to-Know Act.]
(1) When a death, a serious injury or illness or a fire occurs as a result of an operation of an amusement ride or amusement attraction, the owner, operator or lessee shall immediately close the ride or attraction until it has been inspected and declared safe by a qualified inspector.
(2) If the serious injury described in paragraph (1) results in death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or permanent loss of the use of a body organ, the required inspection shall be performed by a qualified inspector who is an employee of the Department, and the ride or attraction may not be reopened until it has been inspected and approved to reopen, in writing, by the Department.
(3) If the serious injury described in paragraph (1) results in death, the ride or attraction may not be reopened until the written approval described in paragraph (2) is obtained and the ride or attraction is declared safe by the insurance company of the owner. This declaration shall be by writing delivered to the Department.
§ 139.12. [Variances] (Reserved).
[Where the literal application of this chapter may cause undue hardship, the affected party may file a written request for relief with the Secretary. The petition shall set forth in detail the grounds upon which the request is based and whether or not a personal hearing is desired. The Secretary may, upon application, grant exceptions or variances but only where it is clearly evident that it is needed to prevent undue hardship--that is, financial, and the like--existing conditions prevent practical compliance and where it is clearly evident that reasonable safety is assured.]
§ 139.13. Penalties.
(a) Civil penalties.
(1) A person who willfully or repeatedly violates the act or this chapter is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000 [for] with respect to each violation.
(2) If the Department elects to pursue a civil penalty, it will provide the person who is the proposed subject of that civil penalty with written notice of the proposed adjudication assessing the civil penalty, and afford that person 7 working days from receipt of that notice within which to deliver to the Department a written request for an administrative hearing on the proposed civil penalty.
(3) A written request for an administrative hearing must specify those portions of the proposed adjudication with respect to which the person requesting the hearing takes issue, the basis for the objection and other relevant facts or arguments not addressed in the proposed adjudication. The administrative hearing will be limited to these objections, additional facts or arguments. Any portion of the proposed adjudication that is not specifically objected to will be deemed admitted at the administrative hearing.
(4) The Department will, in accordance with section 11(a) of the act (4 P. S. § 411(a)), grant an administrative hearing within 7 days of receiving a written request for an administrative hearing. The Department will grant this hearing by mailing or delivering a notice to the person making the request, setting forth the date, time and location of the administrative hearing. An administrative hearing is ''granted'' for purposes of section 11(a) of the act if the referenced notice is mailed or delivered within the 7-day period, regardless of whether the actual scheduled date of the administrative hearing is before or after the expiration of the referenced 7-day period.
(5) If a timely request for an administrative hearing is not received, the Department will issue the proposed adjudication as its final adjudication, and deliver that final adjudication to the subject of that document.
(b) Criminal penalties. An owner or lessee of an amusement ride or amusement attraction who willfully violates the act or this chapter where the violation causes death to a member of the public exposed to the violation, commits a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $2,500 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, or both. If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction, the offender shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, or both.
* * * * * § 139.14. Contacting the Department.
(a) Methods of contact. For purposes of the act and this chapter, the Department may be contacted as follows:
(1) By mail to the following address:
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
ATTN: Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards
2301 North Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9408(2) By telephone to (717) 787-2291.
(3) By fax to (717) 783-4158.
(4) By e-mail to: ra-amusementrides@state.pa.us.
(b) Obtaining forms. Forms and documents referenced in this chapter may be obtained by mailing, faxing or telephoning a request to the Department, or may be available from the Department's website, at: www.agriculture.state.pa.us
(c) Filing documents with the Department. A document required to be filed with the Department under this chapter will be considered ''filed'' as of the date of postmark, fax transmission, e-mail delivery or actual delivery, whichever occurs first.
(d) Delivering documents to the Department. A document required to be delivered to the Department under this chapter will be considered ''delivered'' as of the date it is received at the Department, whether by mail delivery, e-mail, personal delivery, facsimile transmission or other electronic means.
Subchapter B. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION § 139.41. General.
(a) Design and construction. Manufacturers and fabricators of amusement rides and attractions shall design and construct the amusement rides, devices[,] and structures to carry all loads safely and to withstand normal stresses to which they may be subjected. Structural materials and construction of rides and attractions [shall] must conform to recognized engineering [practies] practices, procedures, standards and specifications. This information shall also be furnished by the owner or operator for existing rides and attractions if required by the Department. Stress analysis and other data pertinent to the design, structure, factors of safety or performance characteristics shall be in accordance with accepted engineering practices.
(b) ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards. Manufacturers and fabricators of amusement rides and attractions shall comply with current ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards concerning amusement rides and devices as they pertain to manufacturer responsibilities for equipment design, testing, erection, operation maintenance and inspections. These ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards[, October 1984,] and subsequent amendments are incorporated by reference.
(c) Changes or modifications.
(1) The applicable standards shall be the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards in effect as of the earlier of the following:
(i) The date of contract for original manufacture of the amusement ride or attraction.
(ii) The date of the bill of sale from the manufacturer to the original purchaser of the amusement ride or attraction.
(2) Any changes or modifications to the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards after the earlier of the dates described in paragraph (1)(i) and (ii) may not apply to the amusement ride or amusement attraction unless the standards themselves require retroactive implementation or the Department makes adherence to these new standards a condition of registration.
(d) An amusement ride or amusement attraction shall operate in strict accordance with the applicable ASTM International Standards. If the attraction is modified the latest version of the ASTM International Standards shall apply to the change, alteration or modifications.
(e) Owners of existing amusement rides[,] and attractions are responsible for obtaining the required construction maintenance and operational information from the manufacturer if available.
§ 139.42. Structures.
[(a)] Permanent buildings, enclosed structures and rides intended to be used for or as an amusement ride or amusement attraction shall be constructed to conform to [the requirements of fire and panic regulations at 34 Pa. Code Chapters 49--59 (relating to administration--buildings; general requirements--buildings; A-1 assembly; division A-2 assembly; division A-3 assembly; group B educational; division C-2 hotels, motels, apartment buildings, etc.; division C-3 small group habitation; division C-4 single exit apartments; division D-0 ordinary commercial, industrial, office)] the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act unless exempted under that statute or its attendant regulations, and shall have posted therein a certificate of occupancy issued by [the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry] a building code official in accordance with the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act.
[(b) Temporary buildings intended to be used for or as an amusement ride or attraction that are relocated from time to time, with or without disassembly, shall conform to the following:
(1) Be noncombustible or 1 hour flame-retardant.
(2) Be provided a minimum of two exits reasonably remote from each other. Exits, including access to exits, shall be illuminated and marked and exit doors be equipped with panic hardware and open outward and lead directly to the outside. Required travel distance from one point may be no more than 75 feet.
(3) Be provided with an emergency lighting system which shall be activated by U. L. approved smoke detectors.
(4) Have access to the means of egress marked by readily visible signs in cases where it is not immediately visible to the passengers.
(5) Conform interior finishes to the fire prevention requirements of § 139.75(d) (relating to fire protection and prevention) which deal with fabric hazards constituting part of a passenger-carrying amusement ride.
(6) Be placed or secured with blocking, cribbing, outriggers, guys or other means to be stable under operating conditions.]
§ 139.43. Passenger-carrying rides.
[Tubs, cars, chairs, seats, gondolas and other carriers] Amusement rides and amusement attractions shall be designed for safe operation and meet applicable ASTM International standards, as described in § 139.41(c) (relating to general), and conform to the other requirements of this section to the extent they do not conflict with applicable ASTM International standards.
* * * * * (4) Self-powered rides. Rides which are self-powered and which are operated by a passenger shall have the driving mechanism and any moving part that might pose a threat to the rider guarded and the guards secured in place to prevent passengers from gaining access to the mechanism.
* * * * * (8) Travel clearance. The path of travel of an amusement ride shall have a clearance envelope to ensure that a passenger on the ride cannot be injured by contacting a structural member or other fixed or moveable object when the passenger is in the riding position in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
(9) Emergency brakes and [antiroll back] antirollback devices. Emergency brakes and [antiroll back] antirollback devices [shall] must be in accordance with manufacturer's specifications and, if required or recommended by the manufacturer, must be in place and operational when the ride is open for use by the public.
* * * * * (ii) On rides which make use of inclined tracks, automatic [antiroll back] antirollback devices shall be installed to prevent backward movement of the passenger-carrying units in case of failure of the propelling mechanism, unless movement in the reverse direction would not cause injury or damage.
* * * * * (11) Signal systems.
(i) Signal systems for the starting and stopping of amusement rides shall be provided where the operator of the ride does not have a clear view of the point at which passengers are loaded and unloaded, or where the ride operator does not have a clear view of oncoming or returning passenger-carrying vehicles with sufficient line-of-sight to prevent a collision. A signal system must be a mechanical, electronic or other system that meets or exceeds the manufacturer's recommendations.
(ii) A code of signals adopted for the operation of an amusement ride shall be printed and kept posted at both the operator's station and the signalman's [stations] station. A person who may use these signals shall be [carefully] adequately instructed in their use.
* * * * * (12) Protection against moving parts.
(i) An amusement ride may not be used or operated while a person is [so located as to] located in a position where a person would be endangered by [it] the amusement ride. Areas in which persons may be endangered shall be fenced, barricaded or otherwise guarded against public intrusion.
* * * * * (13) Amusement ride and attraction ancillary equipment.
(i) Air compressors and hydraulic equipment.
* * * * * (B) Air compressor tanks and other receivers used [inconnection] in connection with air compressors [shall] must comply with 34 Pa. Code Chapter 3a (relating to boilers and unfired pressure vessels).
* * * * *
Subchapter C. OPERATION, MAINTENANCE
AND RECORDS§ 139.71. General requirement.
(a) Owners and operators of amusement rides, devices and structures shall [use ASTM Standards on Amusement Rides and Devices] conform to the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards in effect as of the date the amusement ride or amusement attraction is registered with the Department, as they pertain to owner/lessee/operator responsibilities for equipment erection, testing, operation, maintenance and inspection. [ASTM Standards, October 1984, and subsequent amendments, are incorporated by reference.] Changes or modifications to the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards after this registration date may not apply to the amusement ride or amusement attraction unless the standards themselves require retroactive implementation or the Department makes adherence to these new standards a condition of registration.
(b) An amusement ride or amusement attraction shall be constructed, maintained and operated in strict accordance with the applicable ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards. If the attraction is modified, the latest version of the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards shall apply to the change, alteration or modification. If the modification is a major modification, the owner, operator or manufacturer shall also comply with § 139.78 (relating to rebuilt and modified rides).
(c) Air compressors and hydraulic equipment shall be inspected under § 139.43(13) (relating to passenger-carrying rides).
§ 139.72. Erection/disassembly of amusement rides and attractions.
The owner or lessee shall cause each amusement ride, device or attraction to be erected in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations as provided for in ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards, and shall conform to the other requirements of this section to the extent they do not conflict with applicable ASTM International Standards.
* * * * * (2) Proximity to high voltage lines. Amusement rides shall be located at least [10] 15 feet from suspended high voltage lines.
(3) Ride entry and discharge. Safe and adequate means of normal entry and normal discharge from each ride shall be provided.
* * * * * (iii) [No] A means of egress [shall] must be [less than 22] at least 36 inches in width.
* * * * * (x) Stairways, passageways, ramps, landings or platforms [may not be less than 22] must be at least 36 inches in width for single lane passage or 44 inches for double lane passage. Landings or platforms [may not be less than] must be at least 3 feet long measured in the direction of travel.
(xi) Stair treads [shall] must be at least 9 inches deep, exclusive of nosing, and the rise may not exceed 8 inches. Between two connecting levels, the treads [shall] must be uniform depth and the risers [shall] must be of uniform height. The slope of ramps may not exceed one in ten except that when nonslip surfaces are provided.
* * * * * § 139.73. Electrical system and equipment.
* * * * * (c) Where electrical distribution and transmission lines have not been de-energized or where special insulating barriers to prevent physical contact with the lines have [have] not been erected, a person shall be designated to give timely warning for all maneuvers of equipment, ride structures and machinery operated proximate to the lines so that ample clearance is maintained.
* * * * * (g) Services shall be installed in conformance with Article [230] 525 of the National Electrical Code [(NFPA 70-1984) and as subsequently amended].
(h) Temporary electrical power and lighting installation shall be permitted during periods of construction, remodeling or demolition activities. Temporary electrical power and [lightings] lighting shall be permitted for a period not to exceed 90 days when associated with operating amusement rides or attractions.
§ 139.74. Temporary wiring.
(a) Feeders shall be provided with overcurrent protection in accordance with the load imposed and conductor size as specified in Article 240 of the National Electrical Code [(NFPA70-1984) and as subsequently amended].
* * * * * (m) [Receptables] Receptacles and attachment plugs [shall] must be of the grounding type and have ground fault interrupter (GFI) protection.
* * * * * § 139.75. Fire protection and prevention.
(a) Approved U. L. fire extinguishers shall be provided at [gas driven] gasoline-driven rides and otherwise where necessary to secure reasonable and adequate protection from fire hazards.
* * * * * (d) Fabrics constituting part of an amusement ride shall:
(1) Conform to the following requirements, based on tests conducted in accordance with [the requirements of] ASTM-E-84, or its current successor document:
* * * * * § 139.76. Ride and attraction operators and [attraction] attendants.
[(a)] The ride operator shall operate the ride, device or attraction as follows:
* * * * * (4) The operator may not [opeate] operate a ride while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
* * * * * (6) There shall be sufficient numbers of operators and attendants, and this number shall meet or exceed the number of operators recommended by the manufacturer of the ride, device or attraction.
[(b) The operator shall lock-out the electrical disconnect switch when restoration of electrical power to an amusement ride or attraction could create a hazard to persons during the performanceof maintenance, repair, inspection or an emergency evacuation of persons, and ensure that it remains locked out until restoration of power will not create a hazard.]
§ 139.77. Maintenance of amusement rides and attractions.
(a) Maintenance program. The owner of an amusement ride or amusement attraction shall implement a program of maintenance, testing and inspection, based on manufacturer's recommendations, providing for the duties and responsibilities necessary in the care of each amusement ride or attraction. The maintenance program [shall] must include a [check list] checklist to be made available to the person performing the regularly scheduled maintenance. The maintenance program [shall] must include, but is not limited to, the ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards for the operation, maintenance, testing and inspections.
(b) Electricity lock-out. A person performing maintenance or repairs, or making an inspection, shall lock-out the electrical disconnect switch when restoration of electrical power to an amusement ride or amusement attraction could create a hazard to persons during the performance of maintenance, repair, inspection or an emergency evacuation of persons, and ensure that it remains locked out until restoration of power will not create a hazard.
(c) Identification and rating plates. Manufacturers' identification information affixed to the ride or attraction shall be maintained in a readily visible and legible condition at all times to the inspector.
[(c)] (d) * * *
[(d)] (e) * * *
[(e)] (f) * * *
§ 139.79. Records.
(a) The owner or lessee of an amusement ride or amusement attraction shall maintain the following records onsite and make them available [to] upon request of the Department, the Department's representative [and] or the qualified inspector.
(1) Daily inspection records. Daily inspection records--including daily ride-specific inspection checklist records referenced in ASTM International F-24 Committee Standards--shall be prepared and maintained by the owner, lessee or operator who shall be experienced and knowledgeable in the proper assembly and operation of the ride or attraction. The inspection and tests [shall] must include operation of control devices, speed-limiting devices, brakes and other safety equipment. The inspection shall be made each day the ride or attraction is put into normal operation.
(2) Tests. Tests recommended by the manufacturer shall be recorded and a copy made available to the Department, the Department's representative and the qualified inspector. Evidence of satisfactory test results shall be recorded on a form or statement by one of the following:
* * * * * (iii) A [registered licensed] professional engineer.
(iv) A person recommended by the manufacturer as qualified to perform the test.
* * * * *
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-1083. Filed for public inspection June 22, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]
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