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Insulated spreader bars during battery charging

Summary A battery service company asked about materials for equipment used to lift storage batteries. An OSHA regional office said the rule required suitable handling equipment and addressed nonsparking racks, while an insulated spreader bar appeared in an NFPA consensus provision that had not itself been adopted as an OSHA rule. OSHA archives the letter.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1977-05-05
Date issued
May 5, 1977
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1910 Battery Charging Powered Industrial Trucks Electrical Safety
Source
View the official document

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OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

May 5, 1977

Mr. William Rubenzer
Storage Battery Service Co. Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]

Subject: 1910.178(g) Changing and Charging Storage Batteries

Reference: Your memo of 4/21/77

Dear Mr. Rubenzer:

The standards are silent on the material to be used, or not to be used. (g)(4) - A conveyor, overhead hoist, or equivalent material handling equipment shall be provided for handling batteries.

(g)(3) states that when racks are used for support of batteries, they should be made of a material nonconductive to spark generation or be coated or covered to achieve this objective.

The source of the Federal Standard is ANSI B56.1 1969 Powered Industrial Truck and NFPA 505-1969. In reviewing the 1975 revision of NFPA 505 Section 4.3 charging and changing storage batteries "chain hoists shall be equipped with load-chain containers. When hand hoist is used, uncovered batteries shall be covered with a sheet of plywood or other nonconducting material to prevent the hand chain from shorting on cell connectors or terminals. A properly insulated spreader bar shall be used with any overhead hoist". The above section also appears in the source standard.

Although the above section was not promulgated as an OSHA Standard, it is a consensus of the writers of the NFPA Standard that, a properly insulated spreader bar shall be used with any overhead hoist, whether the battery is covered or not.

Please feel free to call us at anytime. 800-621-0523

Sincerely,
EDWARD J. LARGENT
Assistant Regional Administrator
for Technical Support

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