[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 96 (Thursday, May 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12088]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 19, 1994]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
