29 Cfr 1926.64

Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
Even with adequate worker education on
the adverse health effects of lead and appropriate training in work practices, personal
hygiene and other control measures, the
physician has a primary responsibility for
evaluating potential lead toxicity in the
worker. It is only through a careful and detailed medical and work history, a complete
physical examination and appropriate laboratory testing that an accurate assessment
can be made. Many of the adverse health effects of lead toxicity are either irreversible
or only partially reversible and therefore
early detection of disease is very important.
This document outlines the medical monitoring program as defined by the occupational safety and health standard for inorganic lead. It reviews the adverse health effects of lead poisoning and describes the important elements of the history and physical
examinations as they relate to these adverse
effects. Finally, the appropriate laboratory
testing for evaluating lead exposure and toxicity is presented.
It is hoped that this review and discussion
will give the physician a better understanding of the OSHA standard with the ultimate goal of protecting the health and wellbeing of the worker exposed to lead under his
or her care.
[58 FR 26627, May 4, 1993, as amended at 58
FR 34218, June 24, 1993; 61 FR 5510, Feb. 13,
1996; 63 FR 1296, Jan. 8, 1998; 70 FR 1143, Jan.
5, 2005; 71 FR 16674, Apr. 3, 2006; 71 FR 50191,
Aug. 24, 2006; 73 FR 75588, Dec. 12, 2008; 76 FR
33611, June 8, 2011; 76 FR 80741, Dec. 27, 2011;
77 FR 17890, Mar. 26, 2012]

§ 1926.64 Process safety management
of highly hazardous chemicals.
Purpose. This section contains requirements for preventing or minimizing the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive,
flammable, or explosive chemicals.
These releases may result in toxic, fire
or explosion hazards.
(a) Application. (1) This section applies to the following:
(i) A process which involves a chemical at or above the specified threshold
quantities listed in appendix A to this
section;
(ii) A process which involves a Category 1 flammable gas (as defined in
§ 1910.1200(c)) or flammable liquid with
a flashpoint below 100 °F (37.8 °C) on
site in one location, in a quantity of
10,000 pounds (4535.9 kg) or more except
for:
(A) Hydrocarbon fuels used solely for
workplace consumption as a fuel (e.g.,
propane used for comfort heating, gaso-

§ 1926.64

line for vehicle refueling), if such fuels
are not a part of a process containing
another highly hazardous chemical
covered by this standard;
(B) Flammable liquids with a
flashpoint below 100 °F (37.8 °C) stored
in atmospheric tanks or transferred
that are kept below their normal boiling point without benefit of chilling or
refrigeration.
(2) This section does not apply to:
(i) Retail facilities;
(ii) Oil or gas well drilling or servicing operations; or,
(iii) Normally unoccupied remote facilities.
(b) Definitions. Atmospheric tank
means a storage tank which has been
designed to operate at pressures from
atmospheric through 0.5 p.s.i.g. (pounds
per square inch gauge, 3.45 Kpa).
Boiling point means the boiling point
of a liquid at a pressure of 14.7 pounds
per square inch absolute (p.s.i.a.) (760
mm.). For the purposes of this section,
where an accurate boiling point is unavailable for the material in question,
or for mixtures which do not have a
constant boiling point, the 10 percent
point of a distillation performed in accordance with the Standard Method of
Test for Distillation of Petroleum
Products, ASTM D-86-62, may be used
as the boiling point of the liquid.
Catastrophic release means a major
uncontrolled emission, fire, or explosion, involving one or more highly hazardous chemicals, that presents serious
danger to employees in the workplace.
Facility means the buildings, containers or equipment which contain a
process.
Highly hazardous chemical means a
substance possessing toxic, reactive,
flammable, or explosive properties and
specified by paragraph (a)(1) of this
section.
Hot work means work involving electric or gas welding, cutting, brazing, or
similar flame or spark-producing operations.
Normally unoccupied remote facility
means a facility which is operated,
maintained or serviced by employees
who visit the facility only periodically
to check its operation and to perform
necessary operating or maintenance
tasks. No employees are permanently
stationed at the facility. Facilities

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

meeting this definition are not contiguous with, and must be geographically
remote from all other buildings, processes or persons.
Process means any activity involving
a highly hazardous chemical including
any use, storage, manufacturing, handling, or the on-site movement of such
chemicals, or combination of these activities. For purposes of this definition,
any group of vessels which are interconnected and separate vessels which
are located such that a highly hazardous chemical could be involved in a
potential release shall be considered a
single process.
Replacement in kind means a replacement which satisfies the design specification.
Trade secret means any confidential
formula, pattern, process, device, information or compilation of information
that is used in an employer’s business,
and that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over
competitors who do not know or use it.
Appendix D contained in § 1926.59 sets
out the criteria to be used in evaluating trade secrets.
(c) Employee participation. (1) Employers shall develop a written plan of action regarding the implementation of
the employee participation required by
this paragraph.
(2) Employers shall consult with employees and their representatives on
the conduct and development of process hazards analyses and on the development of the other elements of process safety management in this standard.
(3) Employers shall provide to employees and their representatives access to process hazard analyses and to
all other information required to be developed under this standard.
(d) Process safety information. In accordance with the schedule set forth in
paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the employer shall complete a compilation of
written process safety information before conducting any process hazard
analysis required by the standard. The
compilation of written process safety
information is to enable the employer
and the employees involved in operating the process to identify and understand the hazards posed by those processes
involving
highly
hazardous

chemicals. This process safety information shall include information pertaining to the hazards of the highly
hazardous chemicals used or produced
by the process, information pertaining
to the technology of the process, and
information pertaining to the equipment in the process.
(1) Information pertaining to the hazards of the highly hazardous chemicals in
the process. This information shall consist of at least the following:
(i) Toxicity information;
(ii) Permissible exposure limits;
(iii) Physical data;
(iv) Reactivity data:
(v) Corrosivity data;
(vi) Thermal and chemical stability
data; and
(vii) Hazardous effects of inadvertent
mixing of different materials that
could foreseeably occur.
NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (d)(1): Safety data
sheets
meeting
the
requirements
of
§ 1910.1200(g) may be used to comply with this
requirement to the extent they contain the
information required by this paragraph
(d)(1).

(2) Information pertaining to the technology of the process. (i) Information
concerning the technology of the process shall include at least the following:
(A) A block flow diagram or simplified process flow diagram (see appendix B to this section);
(B) Process chemistry;
(C) Maximum intended inventory;
(D) Safe upper and lower limits for
such items as temperatures, pressures,
flows or compositions; and,
(E) An evaluation of the consequences of deviations, including
those affecting the safety and health of
employees.
(ii) Where the original technical information no longer exists, such information may be developed in conjunction with the process hazard analysis
in sufficient detail to support the analysis.
(3) Information pertaining to the equipment in the process. (i) Information pertaining to the equipment in the process
shall include:
(A) Materials of construction;
(B) Piping and instrument diagrams
(P&ID’s);
(C) Electrical classification;

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
(D) Relief system design and design
basis;
(E) Ventilation system design;
(F) Design codes and standards employed;
(G) Material and energy balances for
processes built after May 26, 1992; and,
(H) Safety systems (e.g. interlocks,
detection or suppression systems).
(ii) The employer shall document
that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices.
(iii) For existing equipment designed
and constructed in accordance with
codes, standards, or practices that are
no longer in general use, the employer
shall determine and document that the
equipment is designed, maintained, inspected, tested, and operating in a safe
manner.
(e) Process hazard analysis. (1) The
employer shall perform an initial process hazard analysis (hazard evaluation)
on processes covered by this standard.
The process hazard analysis shall be
appropriate to the complexity of the
process and shall identify, evaluate,
and control the hazards involved in the
process. Employers shall determine and
document the priority order for conducting process hazard analyses based
on a rationale which includes such considerations as extent of the process
hazards, number of potentially affected
employees, age of the process, and operating history of the process. The
process hazard analysis shall be conducted as soon as possible, but not
later than the following schedule:
(i) No less than 25 percent of the initial process hazards analyses shall be
completed by May 26, 1994;
(ii) No less than 50 percent of the initial process hazards analyses shall be
completed by May 26, 1995;
(iii) No less than 75 percent of the
initial process hazards analyses shall
be completed by May 26, 1996;
(iv) All initial process hazards analyses shall be completed by May 26, 1997.
(v) Process hazards analyses completed after May 26, 1987 which meet
the requirements of this paragraph are
acceptable as initial process hazards
analyses. These process hazard analyses shall be updated and revalidated,
based on their completion date, in ac-

§ 1926.64

cordance with paragraph (e)(6) of this
standard.
(2) The employer shall use one or
more of the following methodologies
that are appropriate to determine and
evaluate the hazards of the process
being analyzed.
(i) What-If;
(ii) Checklist;
(iii) What-If/Checklist;
(iv) Hazard and Operability Study
(HAZOP);
(v) Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
(FMEA);
(vi) Fault-Tree Analysis; or
(vii) An appropriate equivalent methodology.
(3) The process hazard analysis shall
address:
(i) The hazards of the process;
(ii) The identification of any previous
incident which had a likely potential
for catastrophic consequences in the
workplace;
(iii) Engineering and administrative
controls applicable to the hazards and
their interrelationships such as appropriate application of detection methodologies to provide early warning of
releases. (Acceptable detection methods might include process monitoring
and control instrumentation with
alarms, and detection hardware such as
hydrocarbon sensors.);
(iv) Consequences of failure of engineering and administrative controls;
(v) Facility siting;
(vi) Human factors; and
(vii) A qualitative evaluation of a
range of the possible safety and health
effects of failure of controls on employees in the workplace.
(4) The process hazard analysis shall
be performed by a team with expertise
in engineering and process operations,
and the team shall include at least one
employee who has experience and
knowledge specific to the process being
evaluated. Also, one member of the
team must be knowledgeable in the
specific process hazard analysis methodology being used.
(5) The employer shall establish a
system to promptly address the team’s
findings and recommendations; assure
that the recommendations are resolved
in a timely manner and that the resolution is documented; document what

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

actions are to be taken; complete actions as soon as possible; develop a
written schedule of when these actions
are to be completed; communicate the
actions to operating, maintenance and
other employees whose work assignments are in the process and who may
be affected by the recommendations or
actions.
(6) At least every five (5) years after
the completion of the initial process
hazard analysis, the process hazard
analysis shall be updated and revalidated by a team meeting the requirements in paragraph (e)(4) of this section, to assure that the process hazard
analysis is consistent with the current
process.
(7) Employers shall retain process
hazards analyses and updates or revalidations for each process covered by
this section, as well as the documented
resolution of recommendations described in paragraph (e)(5) of this section for the life of the process.
(f) Operating procedures. (1) The employer shall develop and implement
written operating procedures that provide clear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process consistent with the process safety information and shall address at least the following elements.
(i) Steps for each operating phase:
(A) Initial startup;
(B) Normal operations;
(C) Temporary operations;
(D) Emergency shutdown including
the conditions under which emergency
shutdown is required, and the assignment of shutdown responsibility to
qualified operators to ensure that
emergency shutdown is executed in a
safe and timely manner.
(E) Emergency operations;
(F) Normal shutdown; and,
(G) Startup following a turnaround,
or after an emergency shutdown.
(ii) Operating limits:
(A) Consequences of deviation; and
(B) Steps required to correct or avoid
deviation.
(iii) Safety and health considerations:
(A) Properties of, and hazards presented by, the chemicals used in the
process;
(B) Precautions necessary to prevent
exposure, including engineering con-

trols, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment;
(C) Control measures to be taken if
physical contact or airborne exposure
occurs;
(D) Quality control for raw materials
and control of hazardous chemical inventory levels; and,
(E) Any special or unique hazards.
(iv) Safety systems and their functions.
(2) Operating procedures shall be
readily accessible to employees who
work in or maintain a process.
(3) The operating procedures shall be
reviewed as often as necessary to assure that they reflect current operating practice, including changes that
result from changes in process chemicals, technology, and equipment, and
changes to facilities. The employer
shall certify annually that these operating procedures are current and accurate.
(4) The employer shall develop and
implement safe work practices to provide for the control of hazards during
operations such as lockout/tagout; confined space entry; opening process
equipment or piping; and control over
entrance into a facility by maintenance, contractor, laboratory, or other
support personnel. These safe work
practices shall apply to employees and
contractor employees.
(g) Training—(1) Initial training. (i)
Each employee presently involved in
operating a process, and each employee
before being involved in operating a
newly assigned process, shall be
trained in an overview of the process
and in the operating procedures as
specified in paragraph (f) of this section. The training shall include emphasis on the specific safety and health
hazards, emergency operations including shutdown, and safe work practices
applicable to the employee’s job tasks.
(ii) In lieu of initial training for
those employees already involved in
operating a process on May 26, 1992, an
employer may certify in writing that
the employee has the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to safely
carry out the duties and responsibilities as specified in the operating procedures.
(2) Refresher training. Refresher training shall be provided at least every

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
three years, and more often if necessary, to each employee involved in
operating a process to assure that the
employee understands and adheres to
the current operating procedures of the
process. The employer, in consultation
with the employees involved in operating the process, shall determine the
appropriate frequency of refresher
training.
(3) Training documentation. The employer shall ascertain that each employee involved in operating a process
has received and understood the training required by this paragraph. The
employer shall prepare a record which
contains the identity of the employee,
the date of training, and the means
used to verify that the employee understood the training.
(h) Contractors—(1) Application. This
paragraph applies to contractors performing maintenance or repair, turnaround, major renovation, or specialty
work on or adjacent to a covered process. It does not apply to contractors
providing incidental services which do
not influence process safety, such as
janitorial work, food and drink services, laundry, delivery or other supply
services.
(2) Employer responsibilities. (i) The
employer, when selecting a contractor,
shall obtain and evaluate information
regarding the contract employer’s safety performance and programs.
(ii) The employer shall inform contract employers of the known potential
fire, explosion, or toxic release hazards
related to the contractor’s work and
the process.
(iii) The employer shall explain to
contract employers the applicable provisions of the emergency action plan
required by paragraph (n) of this section.
(iv) The employer shall develop and
implement safe work practices consistent with paragraph (f)(4) of this section, to control the entrance, presence
and exit of contract employers and
contract employees in covered process
areas.
(v) The employer shall periodically
evaluate the performance of contract
employers in fulfilling their obligations as specified in paragraph (h)(3) of
this section.

§ 1926.64

(vi) The employer shall maintain a
contract employee injury and illness
log related to the contractor’s work in
process areas.
(3) Contract employer responsibilities.
(i) The contract employer shall assure
that each contract employee is trained
in the work practices necessary to safely perform his/her job.
(ii) The contract employer shall assure that each contract employee is instructed in the known potential fire,
explosion, or toxic release hazards related to his/her job and the process,
and the applicable provisions of the
emergency action plan.
(iii) The contract employer shall document that each contract employee
has received and understood the training required by this paragraph. The
contract employer shall prepare a
record which contains the identity of
the contract employee, the date of
training, and the means used to verify
that the employee understood the
training.
(iv) The contract employer shall assure that each contract employee follows the safety rules of the facility including the safe work practices required by paragraph (f)(4) of this section.
(v) The contract employer shall advise the employer of any unique hazards presented by the contract employer’s work, or of any hazards found by
the contract employer’s work.
(i) Pre-startup safety review. (1) The
employer shall perform a pre-startup
safety review for new facilities and for
modified facilities when the modification is significant enough to require a
change in the process safety information.
(2) The pre-startup safety review
shall confirm that prior to the introduction of highly hazardous chemicals
to a process:
(i) Construction and equipment is in
accordance with design specifications;
(ii) Safety, operating, maintenance,
and emergency procedures are in place
and are adequate;
(iii) For new facilities, a process hazard analysis has been performed and
recommendations have been resolved
or implemented before startup; and

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

modified facilities meet the requirements contained in management of
change, paragraph (l).
(iv) Training of each employee involved in operating a process has been
completed.
(j) Mechanical integrity—(1) Application. Paragraphs (j)(2) through (j)(6) of
this section apply to the following
process equipment:
(i) Pressure vessels and storage
tanks;
(ii) Piping systems (including piping
components such as valves);
(iii) Relief and vent systems and devices;
(iv) Emergency shutdown systems;
(v) Controls (including monitoring
devices and sensors, alarms, and interlocks) and,
(vi) Pumps.
(2) Written procedures. The employer
shall establish and implement written
procedures to maintain the on-going
integrity of process equipment.
(3) Training for process maintenance
activities. The employer shall train each
employee involved in maintaining the
on-going integrity of process equipment in an overview of that process
and its hazards and in the procedures
applicable to the employee’s job tasks
to assure that the employee can perform the job tasks in a safe manner.
(4) Inspection and testing. (i) Inspections and tests shall be performed on
process equipment.
(ii) Inspection and testing procedures
shall follow recognized and generally
accepted good engineering practices.
(iii) The frequency of inspections and
tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers’
recommendations and good engineering
practices, and more frequently if determined to be necessary by prior operating experience.
(iv) The employer shall document
each inspection and test that has been
performed on process equipment. The
documentation shall identify the date
of the inspection or test, the name of
the person who performed the inspection or test, the serial number or other
identifier of the equipment on which
the inspection or test was performed, a
description of the inspection or test
performed, and the results of the inspection or test.

(5) Equipment deficiencies. The employer shall correct deficiencies in
equipment that are outside acceptable
limits (defined by the process safety information in paragraph (d) of this section) before further use or in a safe and
timely manner when necessary means
are taken to assure safe operation.
(6) Quality assurance. (i) In the construction of new plants and equipment,
the employer shall assure that equipment as it is fabricated is suitable for
the process application for which they
will be used.
(ii) Appropriate checks and inspections shall be performed to assure that
equipment is installed properly and
consistent with design specifications
and the manufacturer’s instructions.
(iii) The employer shall assure that
maintenance materials, spare parts and
equipment are suitable for the process
application for which they will be used.
(k) Hot work permit. (1) The employer
shall issue a hot work permit for hot
work operations conducted on or near a
covered process.
(2) The permit shall document that
the fire prevention and protection requirements in 29 CFR 1926.352 have
been implemented prior to beginning
the hot work operations; it shall indicate the date(s) authorized for hot
work; and identify the object on which
hot work is to be performed. The permit shall be kept on file until completion of the hot work operations.
(l) Management of change. (1) The employer shall establish and implement
written procedures to manage changes
(except for ‘‘replacements in kind’’) to
process chemicals, technology, equipment, and procedures; and, changes to
facilities that affect a covered process.
(2) The procedures shall assure that
the following considerations are addressed prior to any change:
(i) The technical basis for the proposed change;
(ii) Impact of change on safety and
health;
(iii) Modifications to operating procedures;
(iv) Necessary time period for the
change; and,
(v) Authorization requirements for
the proposed change.
(3) Employees involved in operating a
process and maintenance and contract

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
employees whose job tasks will be affected by a change in the process shall
be informed of, and trained in, the
change prior to start-up of the process
or affected part of the process.
(4) If a change covered by this paragraph results in a change in the process
safety information required by paragraph (d) of this section, such information shall be updated accordingly.
(5) If a change covered by this paragraph results in a change in the operating procedures or practices required
by paragraph (f) of this section, such
procedures or practices shall be updated accordingly.
(m) Incident investigation. (1) The employer shall investigate each incident
which resulted in, or could reasonably
have resulted in a catastrophic release
of highly hazardous chemical in the
workplace.
(2) An incident investigation shall be
initiated as promptly as possible, but
not later than 48 hours following the
incident.
(3) An incident investigation team
shall be established and consist of at
least one person knowledgeable in the
process involved, including a contract
employee if the incident involved work
of the contractor, and other persons
with appropriate knowledge and experience to thoroughly investigate and
analyze the incident.
(4) A report shall be prepared at the
conclusion of the investigation which
includes at a minimum:
(i) Date of incident;
(ii) Date investigation began;
(iii) A description of the incident;
(iv) The factors that contributed to
the incident; and,
(v) Any recommendations resulting
from the investigation.
(5) The employer shall establish a
system to promptly address and resolve
the incident report findings and recommendations. Resolutions and corrective actions shall be documented.
(6) The report shall be reviewed with
all affected personnel whose job tasks
are relevant to the incident findings including contract employees where applicable.
(7) Incident investigation reports
shall be retained for five years.
(n) Emergency planning and response. The employer shall establish

§ 1926.64

and implement an emergency action
plan for the entire plant in accordance
with the provisions of 29 CFR 1926.35(a).
In addition, the emergency action plan
shall include procedures for handling
small releases. Employers covered
under this standard may also be subject to the hazardous waste and emergency response provisions contained in
29 CFR 1926.65(a), (p) and (q).
(o) Compliance audits. (1) Employers
shall certify that they have evaluated
compliance with the provisions of this
section at least every three years to
verify that the procedures and practices developed under the standard are
adequate and are being followed.
(2) The compliance audit shall be
conducted by at least one person
knowledgeable in the process.
(3) A report of the findings of the
audit shall be developed.
(4) The employer shall promptly determine and document an appropriate
response to each of the findings of the
compliance audit, and document that
deficiencies have been corrected.
(5) Employers shall retain the two (2)
most recent compliance audit reports.
(p) Trade secrets. (1) Employers shall
make all information necessary to
comply with the section available to
those persons responsible for compiling
the process safety information (required by paragraph (d) of this section),
those assisting in the development of
the process hazard analysis (required
by paragraph (e) of this section), those
responsible for developing the operating procedures (required by paragraph (f) of this section), and those involved in incident investigations (required by paragraph (m) of this section), emergency planning and response
(paragraph (n) of this section) and compliance audits (paragraph (o) of this
section) without regard to possible
trade secret status of such information.
(2) Nothing in this paragraph shall
preclude the employer from requiring
the persons to whom the information is
made available under paragraph (p)(1)
of this section to enter into confidentiality agreements not to disclose the
information as set forth in 29 CFR
1926.59.
(3) Subject to the rules and procedures set forth in 29 CFR 1926.59(i) (1)

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

through (12), employees and their designated representatives shall have access to trade secret information contained within the process hazard analysis and other documents required to
be developed by this standard.
APPENDIX A TO § 1926.64—LIST OF HIGHLY HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, TOXICS AND REACTIVES
(MANDATORY)
This appendix contains a listing of toxic
and reactive highly hazardous chemicals
which present a potential for a catastrophic
event at or above the threshold quantity.

Chemical Name
Acetaldehyde .........................
Acrolein (2-Propenal) ............
Acrylyl Chloride .....................
Allyl Chloride .........................
Allylamine ..............................
Alkylaluminums .....................
Ammonia, Anhydrous ............
Ammonia solutions (greater
than 44% ammonia by
weight) ...............................
Ammonium Perchlorate .........
Ammonium Permanganate ...
Arsine (also called Arsenic
Hydride) .............................
Bis(Chloromethyl) Ether ........
Boron Trichloride ...................
Boron Trifluoride ....................
Bromine .................................
Bromine Chloride ..................
Bromine Pentafluoride ...........
Bromine Trifluoride ................
3-Bromopropyne (also called
Propargyl Bromide) ............
Butyl Hydroperoxide (Tertiary) ...................................
Butyl Perbenzoate (Tertiary)
Carbonyl Chloride (see Phosgene) ..................................
* Carbonyl Fluoride ...............
Cellulose Nitrate (concentration greater than 12.6% nitrogen .................................
Chlorine .................................
Chlorine Dioxide ....................
Chlorine Pentrafluoride .........
Chlorine Trifluoride ................
Chlorodiethylaluminum (also
called Diethylaluminum
Chloride) ............................
1-Chloro-2,4-Dinitrobenzene
Chloromethyl Methyl Ether ....
Chloropicrin ...........................
Chloropicrin and Methyl Bromide mixture ......................
Chloropicrin and Methyl Chloride mixture ........................
Cumene Hydroperoxide ........
Cyanogen ..............................
Cyanogen Chloride ...............

CAS*

TQ**

75-07-0
107-02-8
814-68-6
107-05-1
107-11-9
Varies
7664-41-7

2500
150
250
1000
1000
5000
10000

7664-41-7
7790-98-9
7787-36-2

15000
500
7500

7784-42-1
542-88-1
10294-34-5
7637-07-2
7726-95-6
13863-41-7
7789-30-2
7787-71-5

100
100
2500
250
1500
1500
2500
15000

106-96-7

100

75-91-2
614-45-9

5000
7500

75-44-5
353-50-4

100
2500

9004-70-0
7782-50-5
10049-04-4
13637-63-3
7790-91-2

2500
1500
1000
1000
1000

96-10-6
97-00-7
107-30-2
76-06-2

5000
5000
500
500

None

1500

None
80-15-9
460-19-5
506-77-4

1500
5000
2500
500

Chemical Name

CAS*

Cyanuric Fluoride ..................
Diacetyl Peroxide (concentration greater than 70%) .......
Diazomethane .......................
Dibenzoyl Peroxide ...............
Diborane ................................
Dibutyl Peroxide (Tertiary) ....
Dichloro Acetylene ................
Dichlorosilane ........................
Diethylzinc .............................
Diisopropyl
Peroxydicarbonate .............
Dilauroyl Peroxide .................
Dimethyldichlorosilane ..........
Dimethylhydrazine, 1,1- ........
Dimethylamine, Anhydrous ...
2,4-Dinitroaniline ...................
Ethyl Methyl Ketone Peroxide
(also Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Peroxide; concentration
greater than 60%) ..............
Ethyl Nitrite ............................
Ethylamine .............................
Ethylene Fluorohydrin ...........
Ethylene Oxide ......................
Ethyleneimine ........................
Fluorine .................................
Formaldehyde (Formalin) ......
Furan .....................................
Hexafluoroacetone ................
Hydrochloric Acid, Anhydrous
Hydrofluoric Acid, Anhydrous
Hydrogen Bromide ................
Hydrogen Chloride ................
Hydrogen Cyanide, Anhydrous ..................................
Hydrogen Fluoride .................
Hydrogen Peroxide (52% by
weight or greater) ..............
Hydrogen Selenide ................
Hydrogen Sulfide ...................
Hydroxylamine .......................
Iron, Pentacarbonyl ...............
Isopropylamine ......................
Ketene ...................................
Methacrylaldehyde ................
Methacryloyl Chloride ............
Methacryloyloxyethyl
Isocyanate .........................
Methyl Acrylonitrile ................
Methylamine, Anhydrous .......
Methyl Bromide .....................
Methyl Chloride .....................
Methyl Chloroformate ............
Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide
(concentration greater than
60%) ..................................
Methyl Fluoroacetate .............
Methyl Fluorosulfate ..............
Methyl Hydrazine ..................
Methyl Iodide .........................
Methyl Isocyanate .................
Methyl Mercaptan ..................
Methyl Vinyl Ketone ..............

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TQ**

675-14-9

100

110-22-5
334-88-3
94-36-0
19287-45-7
110-05-4
7572-29-4
4109-96-0
557-20-0

5000
500
7500
100
5000
250
2500
10000

105-64-6
105-74-8
75-78-5
57-14-7
124-40-3
97-02-9

7500
7500
1000
1000
2500
5000

1338-23-4
109-95-5
75-04-7
371-62-0
75-21-8
151-56-4
7782-41-4
50-00-0
110-00-9
684-16-2
7647-01-0
7664-39-3
10035-10-6
7647-01-0

5000
5000
7500
100
5000
1000
1000
1000
500
5000
5000
1000
5000
5000

74-90-8
7664-39-3

1000
1000

7722-84-1
7783-07-5
7783-06-4
7803-49-8
13463-40-6
75-31-0
463-51-4
78-85-3
920-46-7

7500
150
1500
2500
250
5000
100
1000
150

30674-80-7
126-98-7
74-89-5
74-83-9
74-87-3
79-22-1

100
250
1000
2500
15000
500

1338-23-4
453-18-9
421-20-5
60-34-4
74-88-4
624-83-9
74-93-1
79-84-4

5000
100
100
100
7500
250
5000
100

Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
Chemical Name
Methyltrichlorosilane ..............
Nickel Carbonly (Nickel
Tetracarbonyl) ....................
Nitric Acid (94.5% by weight
or greater) ..........................
Nitric Oxide ............................
Nitroaniline (para Nitroaniline
Nitromethane .........................
Nitrogen Dioxide ....................
Nitrogen Oxides (NO; NO(2);
N2O4; N2O3) .....................
Nitrogen Tetroxide (also
called Nitrogen Peroxide) ..
Nitrogen Trifluoride ................
Nitrogen Trioxide ...................
Oleum (65% to 80% by
weight; also called Fuming
Sulfuric Acid) .....................
Osmium Tetroxide .................
Oxygen Difluoride (Fluorine
Monoxide) ..........................
Ozone ....................................
Pentaborane ..........................
Peracetic Acid (concentration
greater 60% Acetic Acid;
also called Peroxyacetic
Acid) ...................................
Perchloric Acid (concentration
greater than 60% by
weight) ...............................
Perchloromethyl Mercaptan ..
Perchloryl Fluoride ................
Peroxyacetic Acid (concentration greater than 60% Acetic Acid; also called Peracetic Acid) ........................
Phosgene (also called Carbonyl Chloride) ..................

CAS*

TQ**

75-79-6

500

13463-39-3

150

7697-37-2
10102-43-9
100-01-6
75-52-5
10102-44-0

500
250
5000
2500
250

10102-44-0

250

10544-72-6
7783-54-2
10544-73-7

250
5000
250

8014-94-7
20816-12-0

1000
100

7783-41-7
10028-15-6
19624-22-7

100
100
100

79-21-0

1000

7601-90-3
594-42-3
7616-94-6

5000
150
5000

79-21-0

1000

75-44-5

100

§ 1926.64

Chemical Name

CAS*

Phosphine (Hydrogen
Phosphide) .........................
Phosphorus Oxychloride
(also called Phosphoryl
Chloride) ............................
Phosphorus Trichloride .........
Phosphoryl Chloride (also
called Phosphorus
Oxychloride) .......................
Propargyl Bromide ................
Propyl Nitrate ........................
Sarin ......................................
Selenium Hexafluoride ..........
Stibine (Antimony Hydride) ...
Sulfur Dioxide (liquid) ............
Sulfur Pentafluoride ...............
Sulfur Tetrafluoride ................
Sulfur Trioxide (also called
Sulfuric Anhydride) ............
Sulfuric Anhydride (also
called Sulfur Trioxide) ........
Tellurium Hexafluoride ..........
Tetrafluoroethylene ...............
Tetrafluorohydrazine .............
Tetramethyl Lead ..................
Thionyl Chloride ....................
Trichloro (chloromethyl) Silane .....................................
Trichloro (dichlorophenyl) Silane .....................................
Trichlorosilane .......................
Trifluorochloroethylene ..........
Trimethyoxysilane .................

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100

10025-87-3
7719-12-2

1000
1000

10025-87-3
106-96-7
627-3-4
107-44-8
7783-79-1
7803-52-3
7446-09-5
5714-22-7
7783-60-0

1000
100
2500
100
1000
500
1000
250
250

7446-11-9

1000

7446-11-9
7783-80-4
116-14-3
10036-47-2
75-74-1
7719-09-7

1000
250
5000
5000
1000
250

1558-25-4

100

27137-85-5
10025-78-2
79-38-9
2487-90-3

2500
5000
10000
1500

* Chemical Abstract Service Number
** Threshold Quantity in Pounds (Amount
necessary to be covered by this standard.)

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

APPENDIX B TO § 1926.64—BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM AND SIMPLIFIED PROCESS
FLOW DIAGRAM (NONMANDATORY)

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EC30OC91.008

128

Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor

APPENDIX C TO § 1926.64—COMPLIANCE GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROCESS
SAFETY MANAGEMENT (NONMANDATORY)
This appendix serves as a nonmandatory
guideline to assist employers and employees
in complying with the requirements of this
section, as well as provides other helpful recommendations and information. Examples
presented in this appendix are not the only
means of achieving the performance goals in
the standard. This appendix neither adds nor
detracts from the requirements of the standard.
1. Introduction to Process Safety Management. The major objective of process safety
management of highly hazardous chemicals
is to prevent unwanted releases of hazardous
chemicals especially into locations which
could expose employees and others to serious
hazards. An effective process safety manage-

§ 1926.64

ment program requires a systematic approach to evaluating the whole process.
Using this approach the process design, process technology, operational and maintenance
activities and procedures, nonroutine activities and procedures, emergency preparedness
plans and procedures, training programs, and
other elements which impact the process are
all considered in the evaluation. The various
lines of defense that have been incorporated
into the design and operation of the process
to prevent or mitigate the release of hazardous chemicals need to be evaluated and
strengthened to assure their effectiveness at
each level. Process safety management is the
proactive identification, evaluation and
mitigation or prevention of chemical releases that could occur as a result of failures
in process, procedures or equipment.

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EC30OC91.009

129

§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

The process safety management standard
targets highly hazardous chemicals that
have the potential to cause a catastrophic
incident. This standard as a whole is to aid
employers in their efforts to prevent or mitigate episodic chemical releases that could
lead to a catastrophe in the workplace and
possibly to the surrounding community. To
control these types of hazards, employers
need to develop the necessary expertise, experiences, judgement and proactive initiative within their workforce to properly implement and maintain an effective process
safety management program as envisioned in
the OSHA standard. This OSHA standard is
required by the Clean Air Act Amendments
as is the Environmental Protection Agency’s
Risk Management Plan. Employers, who
merge the two sets of requirements into
their process safety management program,
will better assure full compliance with each
as well as enhancing their relationship with
the local community.
While OSHA believes process safety management will have a positive effect on the
safety of employees in workplaces and also
offers other potential benefits to employers
(increased productivity), smaller businesses
which may have limited resources available
to them at this time, might consider alternative avenues of decreasing the risks associated with highly hazardous chemicals at
their workplaces. One method which might
be considered is the reduction in the inventory of the highly hazardous chemical. This
reduction in inventory will result in a reduction of the risk or potential for a catastrophic incident. Also, employers including
small employers may be able to establish
more efficient inventory control by reducing
the quantities of highly hazardous chemicals
on site below the established threshold quantities. This reduction can be accomplished
by ordering smaller shipments and maintaining the minimum inventory necessary for efficient and safe operation. When reduced inventory is not feasible, then the employer
might consider dispersing inventory to several locations on site. Dispersing storage
into locations where a release in one location will not cause a release in another location is a practical method to also reduce the
risk or potential for catastrophic incidents.
2. Employee Involvement in Process Safety
Management. Section 304 of the Clean Air Act
Amendments states that employers are to
consult with their employees and their representatives regarding the employers efforts
in the development and implementation of
the process safety management program elements and hazard assessments. Section 304
also requires employers to train and educate
their employees and to inform affected employees of the findings from incident investigations required by the process safety management program. Many employers, under
their safety and health programs, have al-

ready established means and methods to
keep employees and their representatives informed about relevant safety and health
issues and employers may be able to adapt
these practices and procedures to meet their
obligations under this standard. Employers
who have not implemented an occupational
safety and health program may wish to form
a safety and health committee of employees
and management representatives to help the
employer meet the obligations specified by
this standard. These committees can become
a significant ally in helping the employer to
implement and maintain an effective process
safety management program for all employees.
3. Process Safety Information. Complete and
accurate written information concerning
process chemicals, process technology, and
process equipment is essential to an effective
process safety management program and to a
process hazards analysis. The compiled information will be a necessary resource to a variety of users including the team that will
perform the process hazards analysis as required under paragraph (e); those developing
the training programs and the operating procedures; contractors whose employees will be
working with the process; those conducting
the pre-startup reviews; local emergency
preparedness planners; and insurance and enforcement officials.
The information to be compiled about the
chemicals, including process intermediates,
needs to be comprehensive enough for an accurate assessment of the fire and explosion
characteristics, reactivity hazards, the safety and health hazards to workers, and the
corrosion and erosion effects on the process
equipment and monitoring tools. Current
safety data sheet (SDS) information can be
used to help meet this requirement which
must be supplemented with process chemistry information including runaway reaction and over pressure hazards if applicable.
Process technology information will be a
part of the process safety information package and it is expected that it will include
diagrams of the type shown in appendix B of
this section as well as employer established
criteria for maximum inventory levels for
process chemicals; limits beyond which
would be considered upset conditions; and a
qualitative estimate of the consequences or
results of deviation that could occur if operating beyond the established process limits.
Employers are encouraged to use diagrams
which will help users understand the process.
A block flow diagram is used to show the
major
process
equipment
and
interconnecting process flow lines and show flow
rates, stream composition, temperatures,
and pressures when necessary for clarity.
The block flow diagram is a simplified diagram.

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
Process flow diagrams are more complex
and will show all main flow streams including valves to enhance the understanding of
the process, as well as pressures and temperatures on all feed and product lines within all major vessels, in and out of headers
and heat exchangers, and points of pressure
and temperature control. Also, materials of
construction information, pump capacities
and pressure heads, compressor horsepower
and vessel design pressures and temperatures
are shown when necessary for clarity. In addition, major components of control loops
are usually shown along with key utilities
on process flow diagrams.
Piping and instrument diagrams (P&Ids)
may be the more appropriate type of diagrams to show some of the above details and
to display the information for the piping designer and engineering staff. The P&IDs are
to be used to describe the relationships between equipment and instrumentation as
well as other relevant information that will
enhance clarity. Computer software programs which do P&Ids or other diagrams
useful to the information package, may be
used to help meet this requirement.
The information pertaining to process
equipment design must be documented. In
other words, what were the codes and standards relied on to establish good engineering
practice. These codes and standards are published by such organizations as the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, American
Petroleum Institute, American National
Standards Institute, National Fire Protection Association, American Society for Testing and Materials, National Board of Boiler
and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, National Association of Corrosion Engineers, American
Society of Exchange Manufacturers Association, and model building code groups.
In addition, various engineering societies
issue technical reports which impact process
design. For example, the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers has published technical reports on topics such as two phase
flow for venting devices. This type of technically recognized report would constitute
good engineering practice.
For existing equipment designed and constructed many years ago in accordance with
the codes and standards available at that
time and no longer in general use today, the
employer must document which codes and
standards were used and that the design and
construction along with the testing, inspection and operation are still suitable for the
intended use. Where the process technology
requires a design which departs from the applicable codes and standards, the employer
must document that the design and construction is suitable for the intended purpose.
4. Process Hazard Analysis. A process hazard
analysis (PHA), sometimes called a process
hazard evaluation, is one of the most impor-

§ 1926.64

tant elements of the process safety management program. A PHA is an organized and
systematic effort to identify and analyze the
significance of potential hazards associated
with the processing or handling of highly
hazardous chemicals. A PHA provides information which will assist employers and employees in making decisions for improving
safety and reducing the consequences of unwanted or unplanned releases of hazardous
chemicals. A PHA is directed toward analyzing potential causes and consequences of
fires, explosions, releases of toxic or flammable chemicals and major spills of hazardous chemicals. The PHA focuses on equipment, instrumentation, utilities, human actions (routine and nonroutine), and external
factors that might impact the process. These
considerations assist in determining the hazards and potential failure points or failure
modes in a process.
The selection of a PHA methodology or
technique will be influenced by many factors
including the amount of existing knowledge
about the process. Is it a process that has
been operated for a long period of time with
little or no innovation and extensive experience has been generated with its use? Or, is
it a new process or one which has been
changed frequently by the inclusion of innovative features? Also, the size and complexity of the process will influence the decision as to the appropriate PHA methodology
to use. All PHA methodologies are subject to
certain limitations. For example, the checklist methodology works well when the process is very stable and no changes are made,
but it is not as effective when the process
has undergone extensive change. The checklist may miss the most recent changes and
consequently the changes would not be evaluated. Another limitation to be considered
concerns the assumptions made by the team
or analyst. The PHA is dependent on good
judgement and the assumptions made during
the study need to be documented and understood by the team and reviewer and kept for
a future PHA.
The team conducting the PHA need to understand the methodology that is going to be
used. A PHA team can vary in size from two
people to a number of people with varied
operational and technical backgrounds.
Some team members may only be a part of
the team for a limited time. The team leader
needs to be fully knowledgeable in the proper
implementation of the PHA methodology
that is to be used and should be impartial in
the evaluation. The other full or part time
team members need to provide the team with
expertise in areas such as process technology, process design, operating procedures

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

and practices, including how the work is actually performed, alarms, emergency procedures, instrumentation, maintenance procedures, both routine and nonroutine tasks, including how the tasks are authorized, procurement of parts and supplies, safety and
health, and any other relevant subject as the
need dictates. At least one team member
must be familiar with the process.
The ideal team will have an intimate
knowledge of the standards, codes, specifications and regulations applicable to the process being studied. The selected team members need to be compatible and the team
leader needs to be able to manage the team
and the PHA study. The team needs to be
able to work together while benefiting from
the expertise of others on the team or outside the team, to resolve issues, and to forge
a consensus on the findings of the study and
the recommendations.
The application of a PHA to a process may
involve the use of different methodologies
for various parts of the process. For example,
a process involving a series of unit operations of varying sizes, complexities, and
ages may use different methodologies and
team members for each operation. Then the
conclusions can be integrated into one final
study and evaluation. A more specific example is the use of a checklist PHA for a standard boiler or heat exchanger and the use of a
Hazard and Operability PHA for the overall
process. Also, for batch type processes like
custom batch operations, a generic PHA of a
representative batch may be used where
there are only small changes of monomer or
other ingredient ratios and the chemistry is
documented for the full range and ratio of
batch ingredients. Another process that
might consider using a generic type of PHA
is a gas plant. Often these plants are simply
moved from site to site and therefore, a generic PHA may be used for these movable
plants. Also, when an employer has several
similar size gas plants and no sour gas is
being processed at the site, then a generic
PHA is feasible as long as the variations of
the individual sites are accounted for in the
PHA. Finally, when an employer has a large
continuous process which has several control
rooms for different portions of the process
such as for a distillation tower and a blending operation, the employer may wish to do
each segment separately and then integrate
the final results.
Additionally, small businesses which are
covered by this rule, will often have processes that have less storage volume, less capacity, and less complicated than processes
at a large facility. Therefore, OSHA would
anticipate that the less complex methodologies would be used to meet the process hazard analysis criteria in the standard. These
process hazard analyses can be done in less
time and with a few people being involved. A
less complex process generally means that

less data, P&IDs, and process information is
needed to perform a process hazard analysis.
Many small businesses have processes that
are not unique, such as cold storage lockers
or water treatment facilities. Where employer associations have a number of members with such facilities, a generic PHA,
evolved from a checklist or what-if questions, could be developed and used by each
employer effectively to reflect his/her particular process; this would simplify compliance for them.
When the employer has a number of processes which require a PHA, the employer
must set up a priority system of which PHAs
to conduct first. A preliminary or gross hazard analysis may be useful in prioritizing the
processes that the employer has determined
are subject to coverage by the process safety
management standard. Consideration should
first be given to those processes with the potential of adversely affecting the largest
number of employees. This prioritizing
should consider the potential severity of a
chemical release, the number of potentially
affected employees, the operating history of
the process such as the frequency of chemical releases, the age of the process and any
other relevant factors. These factors would
suggest a ranking order and would suggest
either using a weighing factor system or a
systematic ranking method. The use of a
preliminary hazard analysis would assist an
employer in determining which process
should be of the highest priority and thereby
the employer would obtain the greatest improvement in safety at the facility.
Detailed guidance on the content and application of process hazard analysis methodologies is available from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Center for
Chemical Process Safety (see appendix D).
5. Operating Procedures and Practices. Operating procedures describe tasks to be performed, data to be recorded, operating conditions to be maintained, samples to be collected, and safety and health precautions to
be taken. The procedures need to be technically accurate, understandable to employees, and revised periodically to ensure that
they reflect current operations. The process
safety information package is to be used as
a resource to better assure that the operating procedures and practices are consistent
with the known hazards of the chemicals in
the process and that the operating parameters are accurate. Operating procedures
should be reviewed by engineering staff and
operating personnel to ensure that they are
accurate and provide practical instructions
on how to actually carry out job duties safely.
Operating procedures will include specific
instructions or details on what steps are to
be taken or followed in carrying out the
stated procedures. These operating instructions for each procedure should include the

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
applicable safety precautions and should
contain appropriate information on safety
implications. For example, the operating
procedures addressing operating parameters
will contain operating instructions about
pressure limits, temperature ranges, flow
rates, what to do when an upset condition
occurs, what alarms and instruments are
pertinent if an upset condition occurs, and
other subjects. Another example of using operating instructions to properly implement
operating procedures is in starting up or
shutting down the process. In these cases,
different parameters will be required from
those of normal operation. These operating
instructions need to clearly indicate the distinctions between startup and normal operations such as the appropriate allowances for
heating up a unit to reach the normal operating parameters. Also the operating instructions need to describe the proper method for increasing the temperature of the unit
until the normal operating temperature parameters are achieved.
Computerized process control systems add
complexity to operating instructions. These
operating instructions need to describe the
logic of the software as well as the relationship between the equipment and the control
system; otherwise, it may not be apparent to
the operator.
Operating procedures and instructions are
important for training operating personnel.
The operating procedures are often viewed as
the standard operating practices (SOPs) for
operations. Control room personnel and operating staff, in general, need to have a full understanding of operating procedures. If workers are not fluent in English then procedures
and instructions need to be prepared in a second language understood by the workers. In
addition, operating procedures need to be
changed when there is a change in the process as a result of the management of change
procedures. The consequences of operating
procedure changes need to be fully evaluated
and the information conveyed to the personnel. For example, mechanical changes to
the process made by the maintenance department (like changing a valve from steel to
brass or other subtle changes) need to be
evaluated to determine if operating procedures and practices also need to be changed.
All management of change actions must be
coordinated and integrated with current operating procedures and operating personnel
must be oriented to the changes in procedures before the change is made. When the
process is shutdown in order to make a
change, then the operating procedures must
be updated before startup of the process.
Training in how to handle upset conditions
must be accomplished as well as what operating personnel are to do in emergencies
such as when a pump seal fails or a pipeline
ruptures. Communication between operating
personnel and workers performing work

§ 1926.64

within the process area, such as nonroutine
tasks, also must be maintained. The hazards
of the tasks are to be conveyed to operating
personnel in accordance with established
procedures and to those performing the actual tasks. When the work is completed, operating personnel should be informed to provide closure on the job.
6. Employee Training. All employees, including maintenance and contractor employees,
involved with highly hazardous chemicals
need to fully understand the safety and
health hazards of the chemicals and processes they work with for the protection of
themselves, their fellow employees and the
citizens of nearby communities. Training
conducted in compliance with 1926.59, the
Hazard Communication standard, will help
employees to be more knowledgeable about
the chemicals they work with as well as familiarize them with reading and understanding SDS. However, additional training
in subjects such as operating procedures and
safety work practices, emergency evacuation
and response, safety procedures, routine and
nonroutine work authorization activities,
and other areas pertinent to process safety
and health will need to be covered by an employer’s training program.
In establishing their training programs,
employers must clearly define the employees
to be trained and what subjects are to be
covered in their training. Employers in setting up their training program will need to
clearly establish the goals and objectives
they wish to achieve with the training that
they provide to their employees. The learning goals or objectives should be written in
clear measurable terms before the training
begins. These goals and objectives need to be
tailored to each of the specific training modules or segments. Employers should describe
the important actions and conditions under
which the employee will demonstrate competence or knowledge as well as what is acceptable performance.
Hands-on-training where employees are
able to use their senses beyond listening,
will enhance learning. For example, operating personnel, who will work in a control
room or at control panels, would benefit by
being trained at a simulated control panel or
panels. Upset conditions of various types
could be displayed on the simulator, and
then the employee could go through the
proper operating procedures to bring the
simulator panel back to the normal operating parameters. A training environment
could be created to help the trainee feel the
full reality of the situation but, of course,
under controlled conditions. This realistic
type of training can be very effective in
teaching employees correct procedures while
allowing them to also see the consequences
of what might happens if they do not follow
established operating procedures. Other
training techniques using videos or on-the-

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

job training can also be very effective for
teaching other job tasks, duties, or other important information. An effective training
program will allow the employee to fully
participate in the training process and to
practice their skill or knowledge.
Employers need to periodically evaluate
their training programs to see if the necessary skills, knowledge, and routines are
being properly understood and implemented
by their trained employees. The means or
methods for evaluating the training should
be developed along with the training program goals and objectives. Training program
evaluation will help employers to determine
the amount of training their employees understood, and whether the desired results
were obtained. If, after the evaluation, it appears that the trained employees are not at
the level of knowledge and skill that was expected, the employer will need to revise the
training program, provide retraining, or provide more frequent refresher training sessions until the deficiency is resolved. Those
who conducted the training and those who
received the training should also be consulted as to how best to improve the training
process. If there is a language barrier, the
language known to the trainees should be
used to reinforce the training messages and
information.
Careful consideration must be given to assure that employees including maintenance
and contract employees receive current and
updated training. For example, if changes
are made to a process, impacted employees
must be trained in the changes and understand the effects of the changes on their job
tasks (e.g., any new operating procedures
pertinent to their tasks). Additionally, as already discussed the evaluation of the employee’s absorption of training will certainly
influence the need for training.
7. Contractors. Employers who use contractors to perform work in and around processes
that involve highly hazardous chemicals,
will need to establish a screening process so
that they hire and use contractors who accomplish the desired job tasks without compromising the safety and health of employees at a facility. For contractors, whose safety performance on the job is not known to
the hiring employer, the employer will need
to obtain information on injury and illness
rates and experience and should obtain contractor references. Additionally, the employer must assure that the contractor has
the appropriate job skills, knowledge and
certifications (such as for pressure vessel
welders). Contractor work methods and experiences should be evaluated. For example,
does the contractor conducting demolition
work swing loads over operating processes or
does the contractor avoid such hazards?
Maintaining a site injury and illness log
for contractors is another method employers
must use to track and maintain current

knowledge of work activities involving contract employees working on or adjacent to
covered processes. Injury and illness logs of
both the employer’s employees and contract
employees allow an employer to have full
knowledge of process injury and illness experience. This log will also contain information which will be of use to those auditing
process safety management compliance and
those involved in incident investigations.
Contract employees must perform their
work safely. Considering that contractors
often perform very specialized and potentially hazardous tasks such as confined space
entry activities and nonroutine repair activities it is quite important that their activities be controlled while they are working on
or near a covered process. A permit system
or work authorization system for these activities would also be helpful to all affected
employers. The use of a work authorization
system keeps an employer informed of contract employee activities, and as a benefit
the employer will have better coordination
and more management control over the work
being performed in the process area. A well
run and well maintained process where employee safety is fully recognized will benefit
all of those who work in the facility whether
they be contract employees or employees of
the owner.
8. Pre-Startup Safety. For new processes,
the employer will find a PHA helpful in improving the design and construction of the
process from a reliability and quality point
of view. The safe operation of the new process will be enhanced by making use of the
PHA recommendations before final installations are completed. P&IDs are to be completed along with having the operating procedures in place and the operating staff
trained to run the process before startup.
The initial startup procedures and normal
operating procedures need to be fully evaluated as part of the pre-startup review to assure a safe transfer into the normal operating mode for meeting the process parameters.
For existing processes that have been shutdown for turnaround, or modification, etc.,
the employer must assure that any changes
other than ‘‘replacement in kind’’ made to
the process during shutdown go through the
management of change procedures. P&IDs
will need to be updated as necessary, as well
as operating procedures and instructions. If
the changes made to the process during shutdown are significant and impact the training
program, then operating personnel as well as
employees engaged in routine and nonroutine work in the process area may need some
refresher or additional training in light of
the changes. Any incident investigation recommendations, compliance audits or PHA
recommendations need to be reviewed as
well to see what impacts they may have on
the process before beginning the startup.

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
9. Mechanical Integrity. Employers will need
to review their maintenance programs and
schedules to see if there are areas where
‘‘breakdown’’ maintenance is used rather
than an on-going mechanical integrity program. Equipment used to process, store, or
handle highly hazardous chemicals needs to
be designed, constructed, installed and maintained to minimize the risk of releases of
such chemicals. This requires that a mechanical integrity program be in place to assure
the continued integrity of process equipment. Elements of a mechanical integrity
program include the identification and categorization of equipment and instrumentation, inspections and tests, testing and inspection frequencies, development of maintenance procedures, training of maintenance
personnel, the establishment of criteria for
acceptable test results, documentation of
test and inspection results, and documentation of manufacturer recommendations as to
meantime to failure for equipment and instrumentation.
The first line of defense an employer has
available is to operate and maintain the
process as designed, and to keep the chemicals contained. This line of defense is backed
up by the next line of defense which is the
controlled release of chemicals through
venting to scrubbers or flares, or to surge or
overflow tanks which are designed to receive
such chemicals, etc. These lines of defense
are the primary lines of defense or means to
prevent unwanted releases. The secondary
lines of defense would include fixed fire protection systems like sprinklers, water spray,
or deluge systems, monitor guns, etc., dikes,
designed drainage systems, and other systems which would control or mitigate hazardous chemicals once an unwanted release
occurs. These primary and secondary lines of
defense are what the mechanical integrity
program needs to protect and strengthen
these primary and secondary lines of defenses where appropriate.
The first step of an effective mechanical
integrity program is to compile and categorize a list of process equipment and instrumentation for inclusion in the program.
This list would include pressure vessels, storage tanks, process piping, relief and vent
systems, fire protection system components,
emergency shutdown systems and alarms
and interlocks and pumps. For the categorization of instrumentation and the listed
equipment the employer would prioritize
which pieces of equipment require closer
scrutiny than others. Meantime to failure of
various instrumentation and equipment
parts would be known from the manufacturers data or the employer’s experience with
the parts, which would then influence the inspection and testing frequency and associated procedures. Also, applicable codes and
standards such as the National Board Inspection Code, or those from the American Soci-

§ 1926.64

ety for Testing and Material, American Petroleum Institute, National Fire Protection
Association, American National Standards
Institute, American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, and other groups, provide information to help establish an effective testing
and inspection frequency, as well as appropriate methodologies.
The applicable codes and standards provide
criteria for external inspections for such
items as foundation and supports, anchor
bolts, concrete or steel supports, guy wires,
nozzles and sprinklers, pipe hangers, grounding connections, protective coatings and insulation, and external metal surfaces of piping and vessels, etc. These codes and standards also provide information on methodologies for internal inspection, and a frequency
formula based on the corrosion rate of the
materials of construction. Also, erosion both
internal and external needs to be considered
along with corrosion effects for piping and
valves. Where the corrosion rate is not
known, a maximum inspection frequency is
recommended, and methods of developing
the corrosion rate are available in the codes.
Internal inspections need to cover items
such as vessel shell, bottom and head; metallic linings; nonmetallic linings; thickness
measurements for vessels and piping; inspection for erosion, corrosion, cracking and
bulges; internal equipment like trays, baffles, sensors and screens for erosion, corrosion or cracking and other deficiencies.
Some of these inspections may be performed
by state or local government inspectors
under state and local statutes. However,
each employer needs to develop procedures
to ensure that tests and inspections are conducted properly and that consistency is
maintained even where different employees
may be involved. Appropriate training is to
be provided to maintenance personnel to ensure that they understand the preventive
maintenance program procedures, safe practices, and the proper use and application of
special equipment or unique tools that may
be required. This training is part of the overall training program called for in the standard.
A quality assurance system is needed to
help ensure that the proper materials of construction are used, that fabrication and inspection procedures are proper, and that installation procedures recognize field installation concerns. The quality assurance program is an essential part of the mechanical
integrity program and will help to maintain
the primary and secondary lines of defense
that have been designed into the process to
prevent unwanted chemical releases or those
which control or mitigate a release. ‘‘As
built’’ drawings, together with certifications
of coded vessels and other equipment, and
materials of construction need to be verified
and retained in the quality assurance documentation. Equipment installation jobs need

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

to be properly inspected in the field for use
of proper materials and procedures and to assure that qualified craftsmen are used to do
the job. The use of appropriate gaskets,
packing, bolts, valves, lubricants and welding rods need to be verified in the field. Also,
procedures for installation of safety devices
need to be verified, such as the torque on the
bolts on ruptured disc installations, uniform
torque on flange bolts, proper installation of
pump seals, etc. If the quality of parts is a
problem, it may be appropriate to conduct
audits of the equipment supplier’s facilities
to better assure proper purchases of required
equipment which is suitable for its intended
service. Any changes in equipment that may
become necessary will need to go through
the management of change procedures.
10. Nonroutine Work Authorizations. Nonroutine work which is conducted in process
areas needs to be controlled by the employer
in a consistent manner. The hazards identified involving the work that is to be accomplished must be communicated to those
doing the work, but also to those operating
personnel whose work could affect the safety
of the process. A work authorization notice
or permit must have a procedure that describes the steps the maintenance supervisor, contractor representative or other person needs to follow to obtain the necessary
clearance to get the job started. The work
authorization procedures need to reference
and coordinate, as applicable, lockout/tagout
procedures, line breaking procedures, confined space entry procedures and hot work
authorizations. This procedure also needs to
provide clear steps to follow once the job is
completed in order to provide closure for
those that need to know the job is now completed and equipment can be returned to normal.
11. Managing Change. To properly manage
changes to process chemicals, technology,
equipment and facilities, one must define
what is meant by change. In this process
safety management standard, change includes all modifications to equipment, procedures, raw materials and processing conditions other than ‘‘replacement in kind.’’
These changes need to be properly managed
by identifying and reviewing them prior to
implementation of the change. For example,
the operating procedures contain the operating parameters (pressure limits, temperature ranges, flow rates, etc.) and the importance of operating within these limits. While
the operator must have the flexibility to
maintain safe operation within the established parameters, any operation outside of
these parameters requires review and approval by a written management of change
procedure.
Management of change covers such as
changes in process technology and changes
to equipment and instrumentation. Changes
in process technology can result from

changes in production rates, raw materials,
experimentation, equipment unavailability,
new equipment, new product development,
change in catalyst and changes in operating
conditions to improve yield or quality.
Equipment changes include among others
change in materials of construction, equipment specifications, piping pre-arrangements, experimental equipment, computer
program revisions and changes in alarms and
interlocks. Employers need to establish
means and methods to detect both technical
changes and mechanical changes.
Temporary changes have caused a number
of catastrophes over the years, and employers need to establish ways to detect temporary changes as well as those that are permanent. It is important that a time limit for
temporary changes be established and monitored since, without control, these changes
may tend to become permanent. Temporary
changes are subject to the management of
change provisions. In addition, the management of change procedures are used to insure
that the equipment and procedures are returned to their original or designed conditions at the end of the temporary change.
Proper documentation and review of these
changes is invaluable in assuring that the
safety and health considerations are being
incorporated into the operating procedures
and the process.
Employers may wish to develop a form or
clearance sheet to facilitate the processing
of changes through the management of
change procedures. A typical change form
may include a description and the purpose of
the change, the technical basis for the
change, safety and health considerations,
documentation of changes for the operating
procedures, maintenance procedures, inspection and testing, P&IDs, electrical classification, training and communications, prestartup inspection, duration if a temporary
change, approvals and authorization. Where
the impact of the change is minor and well
understood, a check list reviewed by an authorized person with proper communication
to others who are affected may be sufficient.
However, for a more complex or significant
design change, a hazard evaluation procedure
with approvals by operations, maintenance,
and safety departments may be appropriate.
Changes in documents such as P&IDs, raw
materials, operating procedures, mechanical
integrity programs, electrical classifications, etc., need to be noted so that these revisions can be made permanent when the
drawings and procedure manuals are updated. Copies of process changes need to be
kept in an accessible location to ensure that
design changes are available to operating
personnel as well as to PHA team members
when a PHA is being done or one is being updated.

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
12. Investigation of Incidents. Incident investigation is the process of identifying the underlying causes of incidents and implementing steps to prevent similar events from
occurring. The intent of an incident investigation is for employers to learn from past
experiences and thus avoid repeating past
mistakes. The incidents for which OSHA expects employers to become aware and to investigate are the types of events which result in or could reasonably have resulted in
a catastrophic release. Some of the events
are sometimes referred to as ‘‘near misses,’’
meaning that a serious consequence did not
occur, but could have.
Employers need to develop in-house capability to investigate incidents that occur in
their facilities. A team needs to be assembled by the employer and trained in the techniques of investigation including how to conduct interviews of witnesses, needed documentation and report writing. A multi-disciplinary team is better able to gather the
facts of the event and to analyze them and
develop plausible scenarios as to what happened, and why. Team members should be selected on the basis of their training, knowledge and ability to contribute to a team effort to fully investigate the incident. Employees in the process area where the incident occurred should be consulted, interviewed or made a member of the team. Their
knowledge of the events form a significant
set of facts about the incident which occurred. The report, its findings and recommendations are to be shared with those
who can benefit from the information. The
cooperation of employees is essential to an
effective incident investigation. The focus of
the investigation should be to obtain facts,
and not to place blame. The team and the investigation process should clearly deal with
all involved individuals in a fair, open and
consistent manner.
13. Emergency Preparedness. Each employer
must address what actions employees are to
take when there is an unwanted release of
highly hazardous chemicals. Emergency preparedness or the employer’s tertiary (third)
lines of defense are those that will be relied
on along with the secondary lines of defense
when the primary lines of defense which are
used to prevent an unwanted release fail to
stop the release. Employers will need to decide if they want employees to handle and
stop small or minor incidental releases.
Whether they wish to mobilize the available
resources at the plant and have them
brought to bear on a more significant release. Or whether employers want their employees to evacuate the danger area and
promptly escape to a preplanned safe zone
area, and allow the local community emergency response organizations to handle the
release. Or whether the employer wants to
use some combination of these actions. Employers will need to select how many dif-

§ 1926.64

ferent emergency preparedness or tertiary
lines of defense they plan to have and then
develop the necessary plans and procedures,
and appropriately train employees in their
emergency duties and responsibilities and
then implement these lines of defense.
Employers at a minimum must have an
emergency action plan which will facilitate
the prompt evacuation of employees when an
unwanted release of highly hazardous chemical. This means that the employer will have
a plan that will be activated by an alarm
system to alert employees when to evacuate
and, that employees who are physically impaired, will have the necessary support and
assistance to get them to the safe zone as
well. The intent of these requirements is to
alert and move employees to a safe zone
quickly. Delaying alarms or confusing
alarms are to be avoided. The use of process
control centers or similar process buildings
in the process area as safe areas is discouraged. Recent catastrophes have shown that a
large life loss has occurred in these structures because of where they have been sited
and because they are not necessarily designed to withstand over-pressures from
shockwaves resulting from explosions in the
process area.
Unwanted incidental releases of highly
hazardous chemicals in the process area
must be addressed by the employer as to
what actions employees are to take. If the
employer wants employees to evacuate the
area, then the emergency action plan will be
activated. For outdoor processes where wind
direction is important for selecting the safe
route to a refuge area, the employer should
place a wind direction indicator such as a
wind sock or pennant at the highest point
that can be seen throughout the process
area. Employees can move in the direction of
cross wind to upwind to gain safe access to
the refuge area by knowing the wind direction.
If the employer wants specific employees
in the release area to control or stop the
minor emergency or incidental release, these
actions must be planned for in advance and
procedures developed and implemented.
Preplanning for handling incidental releases
for minor emergencies in the process area
needs to be done, appropriate equipment for
the hazards must be provided, and training
conducted for those employees who will perform the emergency work before they respond to handle an actual release. The employer’s training program, including the
Hazard Communication standard training is
to address the training needs for employees
who are expected to handle incidental or
minor releases.
Preplanning for releases that are more serious than incidental releases is another important line of defense to be used by the employer. When a serious release of a highly
hazardous chemical occurs, the employer

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§ 1926.64

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

through preplanning will have determined in
advance what actions employees are to take.
The evacuation of the immediate release
area and other areas as necessary would be
accomplished under the emergency action
plan. If the employer wishes to use plant personnel such as a fire brigade, spill control
team, a hazardous materials team, or use
employees to render aid to those in the immediate release area and control or mitigate
the incident, these actions are covered by
1926.65, the Hazardous Waste Operations and
Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard. If outside assistance is necessary, such
as through mutual aid agreements between
employers or local government emergency
response organizations, these emergency responders are also covered by HAZWOPER.
The safety and health protections required
for emergency responders are the responsibility of their employers and of the on-scene
incident commander.
Responders may be working under very
hazardous conditions and therefore the objective is to have them competently led by
an on-scene incident commander and the
commander’s staff, properly equipped to do
their assigned work safely, and fully trained
to carry out their duties safely before they
respond to an emergency. Drills, training exercises, or simulations with the local community emergency response planners and responder organizations is one means to obtain
better preparedness. This close cooperation
and coordination between plant and local
community emergency preparedness managers will also aid the employer in complying with the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Risk Management Plan criteria.
One effective way for medium to large facilities to enhance coordination and communication during emergencies for on plant operations and with local community organizations is for employers to establish and equip
an emergency control center. The emergency
control center would be sited in a safe zone
area so that it could be occupied throughout
the duration of an emergency. The center
would serve as the major communication
link between the on-scene incident commander and plant or corporate management
as well as with the local community officials. The communication equipment in the
emergency control center should include a
network to receive and transmit information
by telephone, radio or other means. It is important to have a backup communication
network in case of power failure or one communication means fails. The center should
also be equipped with the plant layout and
community maps, utility drawings including
fire water, emergency lighting, appropriate
reference materials such as a government
agency notification list, company personnel
phone list, SARA Title III reports and safety
data sheets, emergency plans and procedures
manual, a listing with the location of emer-

gency response equipment, mutual aid information, and access to meteorological or
weather condition data and any dispersion
modeling data.
14. Compliance Audits. Employers need to
select a trained individual or assemble a
trained team of people to audit the process
safety management system and program. A
small process or plant may need only one
knowledgeable person to conduct an audit.
The audit is to include an evaluation of the
design and effectiveness of the process safety
management system and a field inspection of
the safety and health conditions and practices to verify that the employer’s systems
are effectively implemented. The audit
should be conducted or lead by a person
knowledgeable in audit techniques and who
is impartial towards the facility or area
being audited. The essential elements of an
audit program include planning, staffing,
conducting the audit, evaluation and corrective action, follow-up and documentation.
Planning in advance is essential to the success of the auditing process. Each employer
needs to establish the format, staffing,
scheduling and verification methods prior to
conducting the audit. The format should be
designed to provide the lead auditor with a
procedure or checklist which details the requirements of each section of the standard.
The names of the audit team members
should be listed as part of the format as well.
The checklist, if properly designed, could
serve as the verification sheet which provides the auditor with the necessary information to expedite the review and assure
that no requirements of the standard are
omitted. This verification sheet format
could also identify those elements that will
require evaluation or a response to correct
deficiencies. This sheet could also be used for
developing the follow-up and documentation
requirements.
The selection of effective audit team members is critical to the success of the program.
Team members should be chosen for their experience, knowledge, and training and should
be familiar with the processes and with auditing techniques, practices and procedures.
The size of the team will vary depending on
the size and complexity of the process under
consideration. For a large, complex, highly
instrumented plant, it may be desirable to
have team members with expertise in process engineering and design, process chemistry, instrumentation and computer controls, electrical hazards and classifications,
safety and health disciplines, maintenance,
emergency preparedness, warehousing or
shipping, and process safety auditing. The
team may use part-time members to provide
for the depth of expertise required as well as
for what is actually done or followed, compared to what is written.
An effective audit includes a review of the
relevant documentation and process safety

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information, inspection of the physical facilities, and interviews with all levels of
plant personnel. Utilizing the audit procedure and checklist developed in the
preplanning stage, the audit team can systematically analyze compliance with the
provisions of the standard and any other corporate policies that are relevant. For example, the audit team will review all aspects of
the training program as part of the overall
audit. The team will review the written
training program for adequacy of content,
frequency of training, effectiveness of training in terms of its goals and objectives as
well as to how it fits into meeting the standard’s requirements, documentation, etc.
Through interviews, the team can determine
the employee’s knowledge and awareness of
the safety procedures, duties, rules, emergency response assignments, etc. During the
inspection, the team can observe actual
practices such as safety and health policies,
procedures, and work authorization practices. This approach enables the team to
identify deficiencies and determine where
corrective actions or improvements are necessary.
An audit is a technique used to gather sufficient facts and information, including statistical information, to verify compliance
with standards. Auditors should select as
part of their preplanning a sample size sufficient to give a degree of confidence that the
audit reflects the level of compliance with
the standard. The audit team, through this
systematic analysis, should document areas
which require corrective action as well as
those areas where the process safety management system is effective and working in
an effective manner. This provides a record
of the audit procedures and findings, and
serves as a baseline of operation data for future audits. It will assist future auditors in
determining changes or trends from previous
audits.
Corrective action is one of the most important parts of the audit. It includes not only
addressing the identified deficiencies, but
also planning, followup, and documentation.
The corrective action process normally begins with a management review of the audit
findings. The purpose of this review is to determine what actions are appropriate, and to
establish priorities, timetables, resource allocations and requirements and responsibilities. In some cases, corrective action may
involve a simple change in procedure or
minor maintenance effort to remedy the concern. Management of change procedures need
to be used, as appropriate, even for what
may seem to be a minor change. Many of the
deficiencies can be acted on promptly, while
some may require engineering studies or indepth review of actual procedures and practices. There may be instances where no action is necessary and this is a valid response
to an audit finding. All actions taken, in-

§ 1926.64

cluding an explanation where no action is
taken on a finding, needs to be documented
as to what was done and why.
It is important to assure that each deficiency identified is addressed, the corrective
action to be taken noted, and the audit person or team responsible be properly documented by the employer. To control the corrective action process, the employer should
consider the use of a tracking system. This
tracking system might include periodic status reports shared with affected levels of
management, specific reports such as completion of an engineering study, and a final
implementation report to provide closure for
audit findings that have been through management of change, if appropriate, and then
shared with affected employees and management. This type of tracking system provides
the employer with the status of the corrective action. It also provides the documentation required to verify that appropriate corrective actions were taken on deficiencies
identified in the audit.
APPENDIX D TO § 1926.64—SOURCES OF
FURTHER INFORMATION (NONMANDATORY)
1. Center for Chemical Process Safety,
American Institute of Chemical Engineers,
345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017,
(212) 705-7319.
2. ‘‘Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures,’’ American Institute of Chemical
Engineers; 345 East 47th Street, New York,
NY 10017.
3. ‘‘Guidelines for Technical Management
of Chemical Process Safety,’’ Center for
Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; 345 East 47th
Street, New York, NY 10017.
4. ‘‘Evaluating Process Safety in the Chemical Industry,’’ Chemical Manufacturers Association; 2501 M Street NW, Washington, DC
20037.
5. ‘‘Safe Warehousing of Chemicals,’’
Chemical Manufacturers Association; 2501 M
Street NW, Washington, DC 20037.
6. ‘‘Management of Process Hazards,’’
American Petroleum Institute (API Recommended Practice 750); 1220 L Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20005.
7. ‘‘Improving Owner and Contractor Safety Performance,’’ American Petroleum Institute (API Recommended Practice 2220); API,
1220 L Street N.W., Washington, DC 20005.
8. Chemical Manufacturers Association
(CMA’s Manager Guide), First Edition, September 1991; CMA, 2501 M Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20037.
9. ‘‘Improving Construction Safety Performance,’’ Report A- 3, The Business Roundtable; The Business Roundtable, 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166. (Report includes
criteria to evaluate contractor safety performance and criteria to enhance contractor
safety performance).

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§ 1926.65

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–14 Edition)

10. ‘‘Recommended Guidelines for Contractor Safety and Health,’’ Texas Chemical
Council; Texas Chemical Council, 1402
Nueces Street, Austin, TX 78701-1534.
11. ‘‘Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,’’ Volumes I and II; Frank P. Lees,
Butterworth; London 1983.
12. ‘‘Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines,’’ 1989; U.S. Department of
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
13. ‘‘Safety and Health Guide for the Chemical Industry,’’ 1986, (OSHA 3091); U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration; 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210.
14. ‘‘Review of Emergency Systems,’’ June
1988; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response, Washington, DC 20460.
15. ‘‘Technical Guidance for Hazards Analysis, Emergency Planning for Extremely
Hazardous Substances,’’ December 1987; U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), Washington, DC 20460.
16. ‘‘Accident Investigation...A New Approach,’’ 1983, National Safety Council; 444
North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 606113991.
17. ‘‘Fire & Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide,’’ 6th Edition, May 1987, Dow
Chemical Company; Midland, Michigan 48674.
18. ‘‘Chemical Exposure Index,’’ May 1988,
Dow Chemical Company; Midland, Michigan
48674.
[58 FR 35115, June 30, 1993, as amended at 77
FR 17890, Mar. 26, 2012; 78 FR 9315, Feb. 8,
2013]

§ 1926.65 Hazardous waste operations
and emergency response.
(a) Scope, application, and definitions—
(1) Scope. This section covers the following operations, unless the employer
can demonstrate that the operation
does not involve employee exposure or
the reasonable possibility for employee
exposure to safety or health hazards:
(i) Clean-up operations required by a
governmental body, whether Federal,
state, local or other involving hazardous substances that are conducted
at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
(including, but not limited to, the
EPA’s National Priority Site List
(NPL), state priority site lists, sites
recommended for the EPA NPL, and
initial investigations of government
identified sites which are conducted before the presence or absence of haz-

ardous
substances
has
been
ascertained);
(ii) Corrective actions involving
clean-up operations at sites covered by
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) as amended (42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);
(iii) Voluntary clean-up operations at
sites recognized by Federal, state, local
or other governmental bodies as uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
(iv) Operations involving hazardous
wastes that are conducted at treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities regulated by 40 CFR parts 264
and 265 pursuant to RCRA; or by agencies under agreement with U.S.E.P.A.
to implement RCRA regulations; and
(v) Emergency response operations
for releases of, or substantial threats of
releases of, hazardous substances without regard to the location of the hazard.
(2) Application. (i) All requirements of
part 1910 and part 1926 of title 29 of the
Code of Federal Regulations apply pursuant to their terms to hazardous
waste and emergency response operations whether covered by this section
or not. If there is a conflict or overlap,
the provision more protective of employee safety and health shall apply
without regard to 29 CFR 1926.20(e)(1).
(ii) Hazardous substance clean-up operations within the scope of paragraphs
(a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(iii) of this section must comply with all paragraphs
of this section except paragraphs (p)
and (q).
(iii) Operations within the scope of
paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section
must comply only with the requirements of paragraph (p) of this section.
NOTES AND EXCEPTIONS: (A) All provisions
of paragraph (p) of this section cover any
treatment, storage or disposal (TSD) operation regulated by 40 CFR parts 264 and 265
or by state law authorized under RCRA, and
required to have a permit or interim status
from EPA pursuant to 40 CFR 270.1 or from
a state agency pursuant to RCRA.
(B) Employers who are not required to
have a permit or interim status because they
are conditionally exempt small quantity
generators under 40 CFR 261.5 or are generators who qualify under 40 CFR 262.34 for exemptions from regulation under 40 CFR parts
264, 265 and 270 (‘‘excepted employers’’) are
not covered by paragraphs (p)(1) through
(p)(7) of this section. Excepted employers
who are required by the EPA or state agency

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