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Subchapter 7. General Industry Safety Orders
Group 20. Flammable Liquids, Gases and Vapors
Article 145. Tank Storage

§5604. Testing.

(a) All tanks, whether shop-built or field-erected, shall be tested before they are placed in service in accordance with the applicable paragraphs of the Code under which they were built. The ASME Code stamp, API monogram, or the Listing Mark of Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., on a tank shall be evidence of compliance with this test. Tanks not marked in accordance with the above Codes shall be tested before they are placed in service in accordance with good engineering principles and reference shall be made to the sections on testing in the Codes listed in Sections 5585, 5586(b) or 5587(b).

(b) When the vertical length of the fill and vent pipes is such that when filled with liquid the static head imposed upon the bottom of the tank exceeds 10 pounds per square inch, the tank and related piping shall be tested hydrostatically to a pressure equal to the static head thus imposed.

(c) In addition to the test called for in (a) and (b), all tanks and connections shall be tested for tightness. Except for underground tanks, this tightness shall be made at operating pressure with air, inert gas or water prior to placing the tank in service. In the case of field-erected tanks the test called for in (a) or (b) may be considered to be the test for tank tightness. Underground tanks and piping, before being covered, enclosed, or placed in use, shall be tested for tightness hydrostatically, or with air pressure at not less than three pounds per square inch and not more than five pounds per square inch. (See Section 5612 for testing pressure piping).

(d) Before the tank is initially placed in service, all leaks or deformations shall be corrected in an acceptable manner. Mechanical caulking is not permitted for correcting leaks in welded tanks except pin hole leaks in the roof.

(e) Tanks to be operated at pressures below their design pressure may be tested by the applicable provisions of (a) or (b) based upon the pressure developed under full emergency venting of the tank.

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