Article 516 Spray Application, Dipping, Coating, and Printing Processes Using Flammable or Combustible Materials.
Code Change Summary: Article 516 was revised to align with the associated NFPA standards.
When an Article in the NEC® is mainly based on another specific NFPA standard, each time the standard changes, corresponding changes are also needed in the NEC®.
NFPA 33 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials and NFPA 34 Standard for Dipping and Coating Processes Using Flammable or Combustible Liquids are the two main documents used to provide the language in article 516 of the NEC®.
In the 2017 NEC®, Article 516 has several new definitions, illustrations and the Article was also organized into four separate parts:
- Part I. General
- Part II. Open Containers
- Part III. Spray Application Processes
- Part IV. Spray Application Operations in Membrane Enclosures
Below is a preview of the NEC®. See the actual NEC® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2017 NEC® edition of NFPA 70.
2017 Code Language:
516.2 Definitions. For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply.
Limited Finishing Workstation. An apparatus that is capable of confining the vapors, mists, residues, dusts, or deposits that are generated by a spray application process but does not meet the requirements of a spray booth or spray room, as herein defined.
N Membrane Enclosure. A temporary enclosure used for the spraying of workpieces that cannot be moved into a spray booth where open spraying is not practical due to the proximity to other operations, finish quality, or concerns such as the collection of overspray.
N Outdoor Spray Area. A spray area that is outside the confines of a building or that has a canopy or roof that does not limit the dissipation of the heat of a fire or dispersion of flammable vapors and does not restrict fire-fighting access and control. For the purpose of this standard, an outdoor spray area can be treated as an unenclosed spray area.
Spray Area. Any fully enclosed, partly enclosed, or unenclosed area in which dangerous quantities of flammable or combustible vapors, mists, residues, dusts, or deposits are present due to the operation of spray processes, including (1) any area in the direct path of a spray application process; (2) the interior of a spray booth, spray room, or limited finishing workstation, as herein defined; (3) the interior of any exhaust plenum, eliminator section, or scrubber section; (4) the interior of any exhaust duct or exhaust stack leading from a spray application process; (5) the interior of any air recirculation path up to and including recirculation particulate filters; (6) any solvent concentrator (pollution abatement) unit or solvent recovery (distillation) unit; and (7) the inside of a membrane enclosure. The following are not part of the spray area: (1) fresh air makeup units; (2) air supply ducts and air supply plenums; (3) recirculation air supply ducts downstream of recirculation particulate filters; and (4) exhaust ducts from solvent concentrator (pollution abatement) units.