[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]


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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]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P