CoatingsPro Magazine

SEP 2015

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38 SEPTEMBER 2015 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Safety Watch I n 1993, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Permit-Required Confned Space Standard 29 CFR 1910.146 was issued for the general industry. It defned hazards of confned spaces and the procedures for entering and performing work in these areas. Tis standard does not apply to construction work due to the unique nature of construction worksites. In fact, the only confned space rule that applied to the construction industry was a training provision that is found under safety training and education, 1926.21 (b)(6), which OSHA conceded was inadequate. A shor t time af ter the new Genera l Industr y Standard went into ef fect, OSH A began d iscussions to develop proposa ls specif ica l ly desig ned to protect constr uction workers in conf ined spaces. T hose proposa ls inc luded atmospher ic and physica l ha zards as par t of a sett lement ag reement fol low ing a lega l cha l lenge by the United Steel Workers of A mer ica. T he chang ing nature of constr uction activ ities and worksites d if fer f rom the static nature of genera l industr y locations, which needs a d if ferent set of safet y r u les concer ning conf ined space entr y and rescue. A fter many starts and stops w ith proposed construction standards for confined spaces, OSH A proposed a confined space for construc- tion standard on November 28, 2007. T his proposed standard was met w ith a great number of organizations opposing the newly proposed standard, so OSH A took all the comments into consideration and came up w ith a final rule that is similar to the General Industr y Permit-Required Confined Space Standard. It was more than 20 years in the making, but it is finally ready. The New Standard Standard 29 CFR 1900.1200, released May 4, 2015, has much in common with the General Industry Confned Space Standard and intends to address the particular safety concerns of the construction industry. Te new standard became efective on August 3, 2015, and it covers all construction employ- ers whose employees may be subject to confned space hazards, with the exception of specialized construction The changing nature of construc tion ac tivities and work sites dif fer from the static nature of general industr y locations, which needs a dif ferent set of safety rules concerning confined space entr y and rescue. By Charles Brown, Senior Coatings Consultant for Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. OSHA's Confned Spaces Standard 20 Years in the Making

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