Occupational Safety & Health Administration

This page highlights OSHA standards, preambles to final rules (background to final rules), directives (instructions for compliance officers), standard interpretations (official letters of interpretation of the standards), other documents and other federal standards related to emergency preparedness and response.

OSHA

Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to "comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act".
 

Note: Twenty-four states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

Highlighted Standards

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

• 1910.38, Emergency action plans
• 1910.120, Hazardous waste operations and emergency response
  • 1910.120(q), Emergency response program to hazardous substance releases

Preambles to Final Rules

• Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (1990)

Directives

• Inspection Procedures for the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard. CPL 02-02-059 [CPL 2-2.59A], (1998, April 24).
• Technical Enforcement and Assistance Guidelines for Hazardous Waste Site and RCRA Corrective Action Clean-up Operations HAZWOPER 1910.120 (b)-(o) Directive. CPL 02-02-071, (2003, November 5).
• Compliance policy for emergency action plans and fire prevention plans. CPL 02-01-037 [CPL 2-1.037], (2002, July 9), 296 KB PDF, 20 pages.
• Search all available directives.

Standard Interpretations

• Application of OSHA standards to escape and protection of employees from threats associated with terrorist actions. (2004, May 24).
• Application of HAZWOPER (1910.120) to terrorist and weapons of mass destruction incident responses. (2003, November 24).
• Training and PPE requirements for hospital staff that decontaminate victims/patients. (2002, December 2).
• Respiratory protection requirements for hospital staff decontaminating chemically contaminated patients. (2002, September 5).
• Response to emergency in "normal work area" definition. (1993, June 22).
• Alarm systems for employee evacuation and/or response. (1992, December 16).
• Training requirements for employees in food storage facility where ammonia is used solely as a refrigerant. (1991, May 10).
• Considerations for "incidental" spills cleaned up by maintenance personnel to satisfy the definition of "emergency response". (1990, July 31).
• Fires involving spills or releases of hazardous substances. (1991, June 17).
• Post-emergency response and medical surveillance requirements of HAZWOPER. (1993, August 5).
• Error corrected in response of Sept. 4, 1990 concerning fire hazard associated with TCE. (1991, June 5).
• Application of the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard to Specific Operations. (1990, July 25).
• Application of OSHA's final standard for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. (1989, July 28).
• 1910.120 Application to Petroleum Product Spills or Releases Subject to State Codes. (1991, July 17).
• Search all available standard interpretations.

Other Documents

• Principal Emergency Response and Preparedness Requirements and Guidance. Publication 3122-06R, (2004). Also available as a 635 KB PDF, 76 pages. Provides a generic, non-exhaustive overview of OSHA standards for emergencies. Note: It is not intended to alter or determine compliance responsibilities in OSHA standards or the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
• Summary report on OSHA inspections conducted at superfund incinerator sites. (1993, September 16).