We have two FAME health and safety notices concerning the risk of pressurized pipes. In Archaeology, our most common issues with pressurised pipes usually concerns oil and gas pipelines. FAME has had Line Watch deliver a webinar on the risks, you can see the recording of that here – https://famearchaeology.co.uk/fame-webinar-archaeology-and-pipeline-safety-in-the-uk/. However, a FAME member recently experienced several near misses with a pressurised water pipe. That H&S Notice:

FAME-H_S-notice-pressurised-pipesDownload

During the work on that H&S Notice the secretariat conducted further research into claims surrounding the level of force required to cause pressure injection injuries, one of the risks from working around pressurised pipes. We found no evidence to support an often cited statement that a force as low as 7 bar can cause pressure injection injuries. Given the lack of evidence for what might be safe levels of force we recommend that FAME members take the view that all pressurised pipework and equipment should be considered as a risk of pressure injection injury. Risk Assessments should be adjusted accordingly. More details can be found in the second attached H&S notice:

FAME-H_S-notice-pressure-injection-injury-7-barDownload