NDT Inspection Services in Washington State

Short answer: Atlantis NDT provides non-destructive testing inspection across Washington State: ultrasonic thickness surveys and corrosion mapping, phased array (PAUT) and TOFD weld inspection, radiography through radiography crews licensed in Washington, magnetic particle, penetrant, visual and eddy current testing, plus the NDE that API 510 pressure vessel, API 570 piping and API 653 storage tank programmes depend on. Work is performed by ASNT-certified technicians under ASNT NDT Level III oversight, crews are mobilised to your site, and results arrive as a code-referenced digital report your inspector of record can sign off.

Washington is a compact inspection market with a very particular shape. Five petroleum refineries sit on the northern Puget Sound shoreline and in Tacoma, a products pipeline runs the length of the I-5 corridor, the largest aircraft factories in the world build airframes in Everett and Renton, the Navy maintains submarines and carriers at Bremerton, and the Columbia River carries hydropower dams, the state's only nuclear power plant and the Hanford cleanup site. Each of those buyers asks for NDT in a different language: API codes at March Point, AWS D1.1 and customer specifications at an aerospace supplier, NAVSEA requirements on a naval contract, ASME Section XI at a nuclear station. This page maps that market region by region, explains which Washington agencies shape inspection scope, and states plainly what Atlantis delivers and what it does not. When you are ready, request a Washington inspection quote with the asset, method, code and dates.

Where inspection work is in Washington State

Direct answer: Washington inspection demand concentrates in the refinery cluster of Whatcom and Skagit counties (Cherry Point, Ferndale and Anacortes), the Tacoma tideflats, the Seattle-Everett aerospace and port corridor, the Kitsap Peninsula naval yards, the lower Columbia River ports at Vancouver, Kalama and Longview, and the Tri-Cities and Spokane in eastern Washington. Each region leans on different methods and codes.

Cherry Point, Ferndale and Anacortes: the refinery coast

Four of Washington's five refineries sit within a short drive of each other in the northwest corner of the state: BP Cherry Point near Blaine and Ferndale, Phillips 66 Ferndale, and the two March Point refineries at Anacortes, Marathon Anacortes and HF Sinclair's Puget Sound Refinery. Together they process Alaska North Slope, Canadian and other crudes delivered by tanker, pipeline and rail, and they supply most of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel used in the Pacific Northwest. Inspection here is the classic refinery mix: UT thickness readings at condition monitoring locations on piping circuits, corrosion mapping on vessels and exchanger shells, PAUT and radiography on repair and tie-in welds, MT and PT on nozzles and attachments, and API 653 tank work at the tank farms and marine terminals. The wet, salty marine climate makes corrosion under insulation and atmospheric corrosion of external surfaces a persistent concern, and turnarounds pack large weld and vessel-entry scopes into short windows. See our Anacortes and Ferndale pages and the Anacortes refining Level III page.

Tacoma and the Port of Tacoma tideflats

The Tacoma tideflats combine the fifth refinery, U.S. Oil and Refining, with bulk liquid terminals, an LNG facility serving marine fuelling, chemical and manufacturing plants and the container terminals of the Northwest Seaport Alliance. Typical scopes are tank shell and floor inspection at terminals, thickness surveys on process and transfer piping, weld inspection on new terminal and dock construction, and structural inspection of cranes, dock steel and lifting gear with MT and VT. See the Tacoma NDT consulting page and practical NDT in Tacoma.

Seattle, Everett, Renton and the aerospace corridor

Boeing's Everett and Renton plants anchor a supply chain of machine shops, composite fabricators, heat treaters and special-process suppliers stretching from Everett through Seattle and Kent to Auburn and beyond. Aerospace NDT is normally governed by the prime's specifications, NAS 410 personnel certification and Nadcap accreditation of the supplier's own NDT; an outside field-inspection contractor is rarely the right answer for production parts. Where Atlantis is useful in this corridor is the industrial side: weld inspection for fabricators and structural steel to AWS D1.1, UT and MT on tooling, lifting and test equipment, thickness surveys on plant utilities, and pressure vessel and piping NDE at manufacturing sites. Seattle also has a working waterfront, with ship repair yards, fishing-fleet maintenance on the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Port of Seattle terminals, where UT gauging and weld inspection are routine. See Seattle weld inspection and Everett NDT consulting.

Bremerton and the Kitsap naval yards

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton maintains and overhauls nuclear-powered carriers and submarines, and Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor supports the submarine fleet. Navy work is governed by NAVSEA technical publications and contract-specific requirements, and much of it is performed by the shipyard's own workforce. Contractors and their suppliers, however, need inspection on fabricated parts, piping and structural repairs to Navy and commercial marine standards, and the surrounding marine industry needs hull gauging and weld inspection. See our maritime NDT consulting in Bremerton page.

Vancouver, Kalama and Longview on the lower Columbia

The lower Columbia River ports handle grain, bulk liquids, chemicals, forest products and steel. Longview and Kelso have pulp and paper mills whose digesters, recovery boilers, pressure vessels and process piping need regular UT thickness and weld inspection, and the Port of Vancouver USA hosts bulk liquid and industrial tenants with tanks and transfer lines. See the Vancouver, Washington and Longview, Washington pages.

Tri-Cities, Hanford, the Columbia dams and Spokane

In eastern Washington, Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station near Richland is the state's only commercial nuclear power plant, and the Department of Energy's Hanford Site carries a large, long-running cleanup programme with tank, piping and treatment-plant work governed by DOE and contract quality requirements. Grand Coulee, Chief Joseph and the Columbia and Snake River dams need penstock, gate, crane and structural weld inspection. Spokane adds aerospace and metals manufacturing, Fairchild Air Force Base and food processing, while wind farms across the Columbia Basin bring tower flange and weld inspection. Nuclear plant NDE is controlled by owner programmes and ASME Section XI, so we support those sites only within the owner's qualification requirements. See NDT training in Richland and practical NDT in Spokane.

NDT methods we deliver in Washington

Direct answer: Atlantis delivers UT thickness and corrosion mapping, PAUT, TOFD, conventional shear-wave UT, radiography through Washington-licensed radiography crews, MT, PT, VT and eddy current, plus MFL floor scanning on storage tanks. The table maps each method to typical Washington applications and the code usually cited; final selection is agreed with your inspector of record during scoping.

Every technique runs on a written procedure reviewed by an ASNT NDT Level III, and every technician is certified under an SNT-TC-1A written practice. Where your site requires its own procedures or a qualification demonstration, we work to those. Method background is on our Seattle pages for ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing, magnetic particle testing, penetrant testing, eddy current testing and visual testing.

API 510, 570 and 653 inspection support in Washington

Direct answer: Atlantis performs the NDE that API 510 pressure vessel, API 570 piping and API 653 storage tank inspections rely on, including thickness surveys, weld examination, tank floor scanning and visual examination, and hands documented results to your API-certified Authorized Inspector, who remains the inspector of record and signs the inspection report.

API 510 pressure vessels. Washington refineries, chemical plants and pulp mills operate towers, drums, reactors, exchangers and digesters that run on API 510 inspection programmes. For these we carry out external visual examination, UT thickness at each vessel's CMLs, corrosion mapping where localised loss is expected, PAUT or TOFD on welds with a cracking history or previous repairs, and MT or PT on nozzles and internal attachments during entries. Readings are reported against the previous survey so your inspector can calculate corrosion rates and set the next interval. See API 510 pressure vessel inspection support and Seattle pressure vessel inspection.

API 570 piping. Refinery units on the Puget Sound carry thousands of piping CMLs. We survey them against your circuit isometrics, add scanning at injection points, mix points and deadlegs where your programme calls for it, and support CUI screening where insulation is stripped, which matters in a climate where insulation stays wet for months. Results are delivered per CML in a format your inspection data system can import. See API 570 piping inspection support, Seattle piping inspection and Seattle corrosion inspection.

API 653 storage tanks. Washington's tank population sits at refineries, marine terminals at Cherry Point, Anacortes, Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver, and inland distribution terminals. For out-of-service inspections we perform MFL floor scanning with UT follow-up, shell course thickness surveys, shell-to-bottom and repair weld examination, nozzle and sump work and floating-roof seal and pontoon checks; for external inspections we survey shell thickness, examine roof, shell, foundation and appurtenances, and take settlement measurements presented against API 653 Annex B. See API 653 tank inspection support and Seattle tank inspection.

What we do not do: Atlantis does not sell risk-based inspection (API 580/581) or fitness-for-service (API 579) assessments, and it does not act as the Authorized Inspector. Our reports give your engineers clean, traceable data; the integrity decisions built on it stay with your programme.

Turnarounds, shutdowns and planned inspection

Direct answer: At Washington refineries and mills, most inspection volume is planned months ahead around turnarounds and annual outages. Atlantis joins the planning stage, agrees methods and procedures, and mobilises crews to your site on dates fixed during scoping, so NDE does not become the critical path when equipment opens.

A turnaround inspection scope has three layers. Pre-shutdown work is done on-stream: thickness surveys, external visual inspection and PAUT or radiography of welds that can be examined in service. That work shrinks the list of items that must be opened. Shutdown work covers everything that needs entry or isolation: vessel internals, tank floors, exchanger shells and welds behind insulation. Post-repair work is the re-examination of every repair weld before start-up. We help you sequence those layers so scope moves out of the outage window wherever your code and inspector allow.

Points that matter in Washington: the refinery coast is wet for much of the year, so insulation removal, surface preparation and couplant choice need planning, and outdoor PT and MT need dry, protected work areas; winter weather in eastern Washington limits outdoor work at dams and wind sites; refinery access requires site-specific safety orientation and contractor prequalification, completed before mobilisation; and the refineries' new process safety rule (see below) raises the bar on documented mechanical-integrity evidence, which increases the value of a clean NDE record. Pulp mills and hydro plants usually plan around annual outages rather than multi-year turnarounds, and we build campaigns around those dates. Plan a Washington turnaround inspection scope.

Washington regulations that shape inspection

Direct answer: In Washington, boilers and unfired pressure vessels are regulated by the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) Boiler and Pressure Vessel program, radiation sources by the Department of Health Office of Radiation Protection, intrastate pipelines by the Utilities and Transportation Commission with PHMSA, workplace process safety by L&I's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), and oil-handling facilities by the Department of Ecology.

Boilers and pressure vessels: L&I

Unlike states that regulate only boilers, Washington's boiler law (chapter 70.79 RCW, with rules in chapter 296-104 WAC) covers both boilers and unfired pressure vessels. L&I issues certificates of inspection, and inspections are carried out by state inspectors, insurance-company inspectors or qualified owner-user inspection agencies. That framework expects documented inspection of in-service vessels, and plants generally build their vessel programmes on API 510 and the National Board Inspection Code. NDE data from Atlantis feeds those inspections; it does not replace the commissioned inspector's role. Confirm the status of any specific vessel with L&I.

Radiography: Department of Health and Agreement State status

Washington is an NRC Agreement State, so radioactive material licences, including licences for industrial radiography sources, are issued and inspected by the Washington State Department of Health Office of Radiation Protection rather than by the NRC directly. Atlantis does not claim to hold a Washington radioactive material licence: radiography on Atlantis scopes is performed by radiography crews licensed in Washington, working to reviewed procedures under our Level III. Where exclusion zones would disrupt a live refinery unit or a busy fabrication shop, PAUT or TOFD may be an alternative if your code and owner accept it.

Pipelines: Utilities and Transportation Commission and PHMSA

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) runs the state pipeline safety programme for intrastate natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, in partnership with PHMSA, which regulates interstate lines under 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195. Washington tightened its pipeline oversight after the 1999 Olympic Pipe Line rupture and fire in Bellingham. Girth-weld inspection on new construction normally follows API 1104. See our pipeline inspection services and Seattle pipeline inspection pages.

Process safety: DOSH and the refinery PSM rule

Washington runs its own OSHA-approved State Plan, so private-sector process safety is enforced by DOSH within L&I rather than by federal OSHA. The general process safety management rules sit in chapter 296-67 WAC, which carries mechanical-integrity requirements equivalent to federal 29 CFR 1910.119: written inspection and testing procedures, inspection following recognised and generally accepted good engineering practice, and documentation of each inspection. In December 2023 L&I adopted a separate refinery part of that chapter with additional requirements for petroleum refineries, which took effect at the end of 2024. Refinery owners should confirm current obligations with DOSH; for an inspection contractor, the practical effect is that complete, traceable inspection records matter more than ever.

Tanks and oil-handling facilities

Aboveground oil storage is subject to EPA's SPCC rule (40 CFR Part 112), which expects tank integrity testing to an industry standard such as API 653 or STI SP001. The Washington Department of Ecology also regulates oil spill prevention, contingency planning and transfer operations at oil-handling facilities and marine terminals, which keeps tank and transfer-piping condition in front of operators.

Inspection reports clients can use

Direct answer: Every Atlantis inspection in Washington produces a digital report built in our own reporting platform: each reading, indication and photo tied to the asset, location, procedure, technician certification and instrument calibration, with acceptance criteria quoted from the governing code. Reports are reviewed under ASNT Level III oversight before release.

Inspectors of record, L&I, DOSH auditors and insurers reject reports for predictable reasons: thickness readings that cannot be traced to a CML, indications without a reference to the procedure and acceptance criterion used, technicians whose certification cannot be shown, and instruments with no calibration record. Our reporting software is designed around those failure points. Data is captured in the field, offline where a unit or a remote dam has no connectivity, structured per asset and per location, and exported in formats your inspection data management system can import. Read more on our NDT inspection software page, or compare options in best NDT reporting software 2026.

Because the same company builds software, the data does not have to stop at a PDF. Results can feed scheduling, certification tracking and invoicing in Atlantis ERP (see NDT ERP in Seattle), or be placed on a 3D model of the unit in our digital twin platform (see digital twins in Seattle). That route from Level III-led inspection to digital report to optional twin is not offered as one package by the large inspection firms.

Cities we cover across Washington

Direct answer: Atlantis mobilises inspection crews to client sites anywhere in Washington, from Blaine to Vancouver and from the coast to Spokane. Atlantis has no physical office in Washington, so crews travel to your plant, terminal, yard, dam or right-of-way, with the schedule agreed during scoping. The pages below cover specific cities in more depth.

• Seattle and King County:tank inspection, piping inspection, weld inspection, pipeline inspection, NDT consulting, maritime NDT consulting and NDT training in Seattle.
• Snohomish County:Everett, with the aerospace and naval-station supply chain.
• Whatcom and Skagit counties:Ferndale and Cherry Point, Anacortes and March Point, plus Bellingham and Mount Vernon by arrangement.
• Pierce County:Tacoma and Tacoma refining, with Joint Base Lewis-McChord suppliers and the tideflats terminals.
• Kitsap Peninsula:Bremerton and Bangor.
• Southwest Washington:Vancouver, Kalama and Longview.
• Eastern Washington:Richland and the Tri-Cities, nuclear NDT training in Richland, Spokane, Moses Lake, Wenatchee and the Columbia dams by arrangement.

Related Washington hubs: NDT consulting in Washington State for Level III services, written practices and procedures, NDT training in Washington State for ASNT SNT-TC-1A-based technician training, and practical NDT in Washington for simulator practice.

How to request inspection

Direct answer: Send the asset, method, location, governing code, dates and the deliverable you need. Atlantis replies with clarifying questions or a scoped quote, confirms procedures and technician certifications, mobilises the crew on the agreed date and delivers a Level III-reviewed digital report.

1. Tell us the job. Asset type (vessel, piping circuit, tank, pipeline, structure), method if known, site location in Washington, governing code (API 510/570/653, ASME, API 1104, AWS D1.1), target dates, quantity and the report format you need. Send your Washington RFQ.
2. Scoping call. We confirm method and technique, access (scaffold, rope access, insulation removal, confined-space entry), site safety requirements and whether radiography or an ultrasonic alternative suits your unit.
3. Quote and procedures. You receive a scope and quote, plus the procedures and technician certifications for review by your inspector of record.
4. Mobilisation. Crews complete site orientation and prequalification and mobilise on the date agreed during scoping.
5. Inspection and daily updates. Findings that need immediate attention are reported to your representative the same shift.
6. Report. A Level III-reviewed digital report, traceable to code, procedure, technician and instrument.

Frequently asked questions about NDT inspection in Washington State

Which NDT inspection services does Atlantis offer in Washington?

UT thickness and corrosion mapping, PAUT, TOFD, conventional UT, radiography through Washington-licensed radiography crews, MT, PT, VT, ET and MFL tank floor scanning, plus NDE support for API 510, API 570 and API 653 programmes and pipeline inspection, all under ASNT Level III oversight.

Do you have an office in Seattle?

No. Atlantis does not operate a physical office or lab in Washington. Crews are mobilised to your site in Seattle or anywhere else in the state, with the schedule agreed during scoping.

Does Washington inspect unfired pressure vessels?

Yes. Washington's boiler and pressure vessel law, administered by L&I, covers unfired pressure vessels as well as boilers, with inspections by state, insurance or owner-user inspectors. Our NDE supports those inspections. Confirm the status of a specific vessel with L&I.

Can you perform API 653 tank inspections in Washington?

We perform the NDE an API 653 inspection relies on: MFL floor scanning with UT follow-up, shell thickness, weld examination and settlement measurement. Your API 653-certified Authorized Inspector remains the inspector of record and signs the report.

Who regulates industrial radiography in Washington?

Washington is an NRC Agreement State, so the Department of Health Office of Radiation Protection licenses radioactive materials, including radiography sources. Radiography on our scopes is done by crews licensed in Washington.

Who regulates pipelines in Washington?

The Utilities and Transportation Commission runs the state pipeline safety programme for intrastate lines in partnership with PHMSA, which regulates interstate pipelines under 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195. New-construction welds typically follow API 1104.

Does the new Washington refinery PSM rule affect inspection?

The refinery part of chapter 296-67 WAC adds requirements for petroleum refineries on top of the general PSM mechanical-integrity rules. Refinery owners should confirm obligations with DOSH; for inspection, the effect is a stronger need for complete, traceable records, which is what our reports are built to provide.

Can inspection be done without shutting the unit down?

Often, yes. Thickness surveys, external visual, many weld examinations and some corrosion mapping can be done on-stream, subject to temperature limits and site permits. Doing this before a turnaround shrinks the scope that must wait for the outage.

How much does NDT inspection cost in Washington?

Atlantis quotes on request. Cost depends on method, number of locations or welds, access (scaffold, insulation removal, entry), travel to the site, crew size, schedule and the report format. Send the scope and you will get a written quote.

Do you inspect for aerospace manufacturers?

Production aerospace NDT is normally performed by Nadcap-accredited suppliers to the prime's specifications and NAS 410. We support the industrial side of aerospace sites, such as structural and fabrication welds, lifting equipment, plant pressure equipment and utilities.

Will our inspector or auditor accept your reports?

Reports quote the procedure, acceptance criteria and code, list technician certifications and instrument calibration, and are reviewed under ASNT Level III oversight, which is what inspectors of record and auditors look for. Agree the format with us during scoping.

Do you offer RBI or fitness-for-service assessments?

No. Atlantis does not sell API 580/581 risk-based inspection or API 579 fitness-for-service assessments. We provide the inspection data those programmes use.

Get a Washington inspection scope

Whether you have a vessel due for its next API 510 inspection at March Point, a tank coming out of service at a Tacoma terminal, a turnaround weld list at Cherry Point, a pulp-mill outage in Longview or penstock welds on the Columbia, the starting point is the same: tell us the asset, method, code and dates. Get a quote for NDT inspection in Washington, or book a call with our ASNT Level III to talk through method selection first. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Also see all inspection services.

More Atlantis NDT services in Washington

• NDT training and certification in Washington
• Level III consulting in Washington
• Practical NDT simulator in Washington