Section 71 Unlawful operation of boilers; certificate of inspection; identification number; inspection fees

Section 71. No person shall operate or cause to be operated any boiler required by section seventy to be inspected until it has been inspected, nor shall the boiler be operated at pressures or temperatures in excess of the safe working pressure or temperature as ascertained by the ASME Code, section one, four or eight and the rules of the board, nor unless the boiler is equipped with such safety appliances as are prescribed by the board and the ASME Code, section one, four or eight delineating such appliances.

When the inspection of a boiler or boilers covered by section seventy is completed and the inspector finds the boiler to be in safe working order, with the fittings necessary to safety, and properly set up, and the boiler or boilers and their appurtenances conform to the rules of the board and the ASME Code, section one, four or eight, he shall issue to the owner or user thereof a certificate of inspection. The certificate shall state the maximum pressure at which the boiler may be operated, and thereupon the owner or user of the boiler may operate the boiler as stated in the certificate. If the inspector finds otherwise he shall withhold his certificate until the boiler and its appurtenances are put in a condition to insure safety of operation, and the boiler conforms to the rules of the board and the ASME Code, section one, four or eight. The owner of such boiler shall not operate nor cause to be operated such boiler until a certificate has been issued.

Every boiler covered by section seventy shall be identified by a number. The number shall be an ASME or National Board of Pressure Vessels Inspectors number either stamped upon the boiler or by attaching a numbered metal tag, by a seal or otherwise, to the boiler or its fittings. No person except district engineering inspector of the division shall deface or remove any such number or tag.

The owner or user of a boiler covered by section seventy and inspected by the division shall pay a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven for each internal inspection and for each external inspection. During the year that the internal inspection is due, no fee shall be charged for an external inspection performed at the time of the internal inspection. The commissioner shall pay to the commonwealth all sums so received.