Rynek pracy · 28.11.1994

Permit Required Confined Spaces

OSHA issued a general industry standard on Permit-Required Confined Spaces (permit spaces) on January 14, 1993 (58 FR 4462). The standard became effective on April 15, 1993. On March 15, 1993 the United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO/CLC (USWA) petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for judicial review of the final permit space standard under section 6(f) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In particular, the USWA contended that Sec. 1910.146(k)(2), which addresses the rescue of permit space entrants by outside (off-site) rescue services, was vague and ineffective. The USWA also noted that the permit space standard lacks a provision which would provide employees or their designated representative the opportunity to observe any monitoring or testing required by the standard. The language of Sec. 1910.146(k)(3)(i), which specifies the point of attachment of a retrieval line to a permit space entrant, may be unnecessarily restrictive. The ADS Environmental Services Company, a contractor which performs work in sewers, has petitioned OSHA for a variance to paragraph (k)(3)(i). ADS has demonstrated that, for their operations, a point of attachment in