Permit-Required Confined Spaces

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

RIN 1218-AA51

Permit-Required Confined Spaces

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: On January 14, 1993 at 58 FR 4462, the Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule on Permit-Required

Confined Spaces, 29 CFR 1910.146 in the Federal Register. On June 29,

1993 at 58 FR 34844, OSHA published a corrections document for that

final rule which contained corrections to the regulatory text and to

several appendices of the final rule. This document adds a metric

equivalent in paragraph (k)(3)(ii) and further revises the

``Atmospheric monitoring'' section of appendix E, ``Sewer System

Entry'', of the final rule.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 19, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James F. Foster, Occupational

Safety and Health Administration, Office of Information and Public

Affairs, room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue

NW., Washington, DC 20210, Telephone: (202) 219-8181.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA published its final rule on Permit-

Required Confined Spaces, 29 CFR 1910.146, on January 14, 1993 at 58 FR

4462. Corrections to the regulatory text and several appendices were

published on June 29, 1993 at 58 FR 34844.

Amendment to 29 CFR 1910.146

The last sentence of Sec. 1910.146(k)(3)(ii) requires that a

mechanical device be used to retrieve personnel from vertical type

permit spaces more than 5 feet deep. OSHA failed to include the metric

equivalent of 5 feet in this provision. Since it is the policy of the

U.S. Government and OSHA to include metric equivalents of U.S. units

wherever possible, OSHA is correcting Sec. 1910.146(k)(3)(ii) by adding

the metric equivalent (1.52 meters) of 5 feet.

Amendment to Appendix E

In the correction notice of June 29, 1993 (58 FR 34844), OSHA

removed all reference to ``broad range sensor instruments'' from the

``Atmospheric monitoring'' section of non-mandatory appendix E (see 58

FR 34845) because the Agency felt that it was inappropriate to suggest

a particular type of sensor instrument for all sewer entries. However,

it appears that, by removing the reference to the broad range sensor,

OSHA inadvertently created the impression that the Agency now favored

the use of substance-specific sensors over the use of broad range

sensors for atmospheric monitoring in sewer systems. This was not the

Agency's intent. As stated in the preamble to the final rule, the

choice of sensors or other monitoring equipment will, in general,

depend on the extent to which the employer has been able to identify

the atmospheric hazards present or potentially present in the sewer.

Where the employer has already identified those hazards, substance-

specific sensors are preferable, because they accurately indicate the

concentrations of the identified air contaminants. By contrast, where

the employer has not been able to identify the specific atmospheric

hazards present or potentially present in the sewer, broad range

sensors are preferable because they indicate that the hazardous

threshold of a class (or classes) of contaminants (i.e., hydrocarbons)

in the sewer have been exceeded.

Sewer permit spaces generally cannot be isolated from adjacent

sections of the sewer. This means that air contaminants arising or

introduced elsewhere in a sewer system can enter a sewer permit space,

without warning, during entry operations. This, in turn, may make it

difficult for employers to anticipate the potential atmospheric hazards

of a sewer permit space. OSHA expects employers to consider the

predictability of sewer permit space's atmosphere when selecting the

appropriate equipment for atmospheric testing and monitoring.

Accordingly, OSHA is revising the information in Sec. 1910.146,

appendix E, pertaining to atmospheric testing and monitoring in sewers.

The reference to broad range sensors is restored and the advantages and

limitations of both the oxygen sensor/broad range sensor instrument and

the substance-specific device are more clearly stated. However, no

preference is expressed for either type of meter. Instrument selection

is left up to the employer, who is in a position to decide what type of

testing instrument is appropriate for a particular sewer entry.

Exemption From Notice and Comment Procedures

With regard to this action, OSHA has determined that it is not

required to follow procedures for public notice and comment rulemaking

under either section 4 of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553) or under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

(29 U.S.C. 655(b)). This action does not affect the substantive

requirements or coverage of the standards themselves. This technical

amendment does not modify or revoke existing rights or obligations, nor

does it establish new ones. This action simply provides additional

information on the existing regulatory burden. OSHA, therefore, finds

that notice and public procedure are impracticable and unnecessary

within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). For the same reasons, OSHA

also finds that, in accordance with 29 CFR 1911.5, good cause exists

for dispensing with the public notice and comment procedures prescribed

in section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Exemption From Delayed Effective Date Requirement

Under 5 U.S.C. 553, OSHA finds that there is good cause for making

this technical amendment effective upon publication in the Federal

Register. This technical amendment simply provides additional

information on the existing regulatory burden without increasing that

burden.

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 1910

Confined spaces, Hazardous atmospheres, Monitoring, Occupational

safety and health, Safety.

Authority: This document was prepared under the direction of

Joseph A. Dear, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety

and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20210.

Accordingly, 29 CFR 1910.146 is amended as set forth below:

Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of May, 1994.

Joseph A. Dear,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.

PART 1910--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS

1. The authority citation for subpart J of part 1910 continues to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 4, 6, and 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act

of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657; Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-

71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736) or 1-90 (55

FR 9033), as applicable.

Sections 1910.141, 1910.142, 1910.145, 1910.146, and 1910.147

also issued under 29 CFR part 1911.

Sec. 1910.146 [Amended]

2. The last sentence of paragraph (k)(3)(ii) of Sec. 1910.146 is

amended by adding ``(1.52 m)'' between the words ``feet'' and ``deep.''

3. Section (2), Atmospheric monitoring, of Appendix E of

Sec. 1910.146 is revised to read as follows:

(2) Atmospheric monitoring. Entrants should be trained in the

use of, and be equipped with, atmospheric monitoring equipment which

sounds an audible alarm, in addition to its visual readout, whenever

one of the following conditions are encountered: Oxygen

concentration less than 19.5 percent; flammable gas or vapor at 10

percent or more of the lower flammable limit (LFL); or hydrogen

sulfide or carbon monoxide at or above 10 ppm or 35 ppm,

respectively, measured as an 8-hour time-weighted average.

Atmospheric monitoring equipment needs to be calibrated according to

the manufacturer's instructions. The oxygen sensor/broad range

sensor is best suited for initial use in situations where the actual

or potential contaminants have not been identified, because broad

range sensors, unlike substance-specific sensors, enable employers

to obtain an overall reading of the hydrocarbons (flammables)

present in the space. However, such sensors only indicate that a

hazardous threshold of a class of chemicals has been exceeded. They

do not measure the levels of contamination of specific substances.

Therefore, substance-specific devices, which measure the actual

levels of specific substances, are best suited for use where actual

and potential contaminants have been identified. The measurements

obtained with substance-specific devices are of vital importance to

the employer when decisions are made concerning the measures

necessary to protect entrants (such as ventilation or personal

protective equipment) and the setting and attainment of appropriate

entry conditions. However, the sewer environment may suddenly and

unpredictably change, and the substance-specific devices may not

detect the potentially lethal atmospheric hazards which may enter

the sewer environment.

Although OSHA considers the information and guidance provided

above to be appropriate and useful in most sewer entry situations,

the Agency emphasizes that each employer must consider the unique

circumstances, including the predictability of the atmosphere, of

the sewer permit spaces in the employer's workplace in preparing for

entry. Only the employer can decide, based upon his or her knowledge

of, and experience with permit spaces in sewer systems, what the

best type of testing instrument may be for any specific entry

operation.

The selected testing instrument should be carried and used by

the entrant in sewer line work to monitor the atmosphere in the

entrant's environment, and in advance of the entrant's direction of

movement, to warn the entrant of any deterioration in atmospheric

conditions. Where several entrants are working together in the same

immediate location, one instrument, used by the lead entrant, is

acceptable.

[FR Doc. 94-12088 Filed 5-18-94; 8:45 am]

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