Abrasive Blasting Inside Tanks and Vessels SWMS

Suits blasting and coating contractors, boilermakers and maintenance crews who blast and coat the inside of tanks and vessels. It covers abrasive blasting and coating inside tanks and vessels, including dust, ventilation, air-fed respirators and confined-space entry. It does not cover open-air blasting, which has the Abrasive Blasting SWMS, or general confined space entry, which has the Confined Spaces SWMS.

Blasting and coating the inside of a tank or vessel is usually work on plant. Under WHS Regulation s 290(2) the construction work chapter does not apply to plant unless an exception applies, such as an underground tank or work that relates to construction work, so no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked and s 299 requires a SWMS only if the work is high risk construction work. Where it is, tick confined space (s 291(f)) and contaminated or flammable atmosphere (s 291(l)), and any other item that applies. Either way the written risk assessment and entry permit that Part 4.3 requires (ss 66 and 67) still apply.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Abrasive Blasting Inside Tanks and Vessels SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job, decide whether entry is needed and assign the roles” to “Leave the vessel, close out the permit, handle waste and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Dust, silica and lead in the vessel air
• Oxygen-deficient or toxic air
• Flammable vapour from coatings and residues
• Failed or contaminated breathing air
• Delayed rescue through a small manway
• Injury from the blast jet and ricochet
• Hose whip and blast pot pressure
• Static and ignition sources
• Solvent fumes and sensitising coatings
• Noise and heat inside steel vessels
• Old coatings and linings with lead or asbestos
• Spent abrasive and waste

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Blast operators and pot attendants trained and verified as competent on the blast machine, nozzle, dead man control, hoses and air-fed hood or helmet in use (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for abrasive blasting)
• A competent person to carry out and record the confined space risk assessment, complete the entry permit and sign off the acknowledgement that everyone has left (WHS Regulation ss 66 and 67), and to test the atmosphere with a calibrated gas detector (Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021)
• Entrants, standby person, rescuers and supervisors trained in the hazards, controls, PPE, the permit and the emergency procedures, with training records kept for 2 years (s 76)
• A standby person assigned for every entry who stays outside, does no other work and never enters to attempt a rescue (s 69; Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021)
• Rescue team or trained workers able to start a rescue from outside and practised in the rescue procedure (s 74); air supplied respiratory equipment and suitable PPE available for rescuers (s 75)
• Training in the hazards of the abrasive, the surface and the coating, including lead, silica, asbestos and other toxic metals, the SDS and the controls (s 39)
• Competent person to identify suspected asbestos (s 422) and to test old coatings for lead and other metals before blasting
• Respirators fitted to each wearer and checked before each use; air-fed hoods and helmets checked for fit and air flow
• Health monitoring by a registered medical practitioner where the Regulation requires it, for example for lead risk work (Part 7.2)
• Audiometric testing for a worker the business requires to use hearing protection against noise that exceeds the exposure standard (s 58)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical work on the supply, motors or controls (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• General construction induction training card (white card) only where the job is construction work, and site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): Part 4.3 Confined spaces (ss 62 to 77) and Schedule 19 (confined space, safe oxygen level)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 382 and Schedule 10 table 10.3 (restricted chemicals for abrasive blasting and spray painting)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): Part 7.2 lead (ss 392 to 418), including the lead process definition in s 392(m) and (o)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 49 and 50 (exposure standards and air monitoring), ss 51 to 53 (hazardous atmospheres, ignition sources, flammable material) and ss 56 to 58 (noise)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): Part 7.1 hazardous chemicals, ss 341, 342, 344, 346, 351, 355 and 357; chapter 8A crystalline silica (ss 529A to 529CD) where the substance contains crystalline silica
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 208(5), 210, 213 and 224 (plant isolation, maintenance and pressure equipment), ss 422 and 446 (asbestos)
• Abrasive Blasting Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (only licensed electrical workers do electrical work)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 133 and 136 where the work is manufacturing work as s 123 defines it (which includes maintenance and repair other than construction work); s 140 where it is construction work (electrical equipment complies with AS/NZS 3012 (Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites))

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (20 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: air-fed positive-pressure hood or helmet for the blast operator, with an inner bib and a high-visibility shoulder cape, supplied with breathing air of suitable quality
• Emergency arrangements for: person unresponsive, trapped or overcome in the vessel, breathing air alarm or loss of air supply and gas alarm, fire or flash
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.