October 19, 2006

Mr. Jack Hay, CHMM
Senior Environmental, Safety and Health Manager
Washington Group International
105 Mitchell Road, Suite 200
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Dear Mr. Hay:

This letter is in response to your request of September 1, 2006, addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Atlanta Regional Office, regarding an interpretation clarification for fall protection requirements under 29 CFR 1910 General Industry standards in relation to accessing truck trailers/tankers. Your letter has been referred to the Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP) for a response.

As discussed during a telephone conversation with OSHA staff on September 27, 2006, the Oak Ridge Reservation (located in the State of Tennessee) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site. In addition, the DOE Oak Ridge site is a Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated (GOCO) facility.

As you may be aware, Section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 states that OSHA may not conduct enforcement activity over a working condition, if another federal agency exercises its statutory authority over the working condition. Therefore, OSHA authority may be preempted, if DOE exercises its statutory authority over a particular working condition.

In 1992, DOE and OSHA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sought to formalize the working relationship between the two agencies and to delineate the authority of DOE for occupational safety and health of contractor employees at GOCO facilities. In short, the MOU states that the working conditions of contractor employees at GOCO facilities are regulated by DOE. I have enclosed a copy of the MOU for your review.

if you wish to report hazardous working conditions at a DOE GOCO site, you should contact DOE at:

U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
Telephone: 1-800-342-5363

Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. We hope you find this information helpful. OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards, and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employee obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. Also, from time to time we update our guidance in response to new information. To keep apprised of such developments, you can consult OSHA's website at http://www.osha.gov. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Office of General Industry Enforcement at (202) 693-1850.

Sincerely,



Richard E. Fairfax, Director
Directorate of Enforcement Programs