Compressed Gas Cylinder Storage Separation (OSHA 1926.350)
The rule everyone half-remembers as \u002220 feet\u0022 is an OR, and the alternative is usually cheaper: oxygen separated from fuel gas OR COMBUSTIBLES by 20 ft, or by a noncombustible barrier at least 5 ft high with at least a half-hour fire-resistance rating. On a tight site 20 ft of clear floor is expensive and a 5 ft barrier is not. But the barrier route has THREE conditions and two of them fail silently -- a sheet of plywood is the right shape, stands the right height, and satisfies neither the noncombustible nor the rating test, and nobody measures a rating on site. The scope is wider than people apply it too: it runs to combustible MATERIALS, so oxygen 20 ft from the acetylene and hard against the parts washer has not solved the problem. Also checks upright securing and valve caps.
Formula and source
separation is satisfied when the distance between oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders or combustible materials is at least 20 ft, OR when a barrier is present that is simultaneously noncombustible, at least 5 ft high, and rated at least one-half hour. Handling adds two independent conditions: cylinders secured upright, and valve protection caps in place and secured.
OSHA 29 CFR 1926.350, a US federal regulation in the public domain, quoted directly.
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