Standard Interpretations - Publication Date | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Standard Interpretations

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 employer obligations. Each 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.

December

12/14/1977 - A knot in a wire rope is a recognized hazard for material handling. - [1926.251(c)(3); 1915.112(b)(4); 1917.42(b)(5); 1918.62(b)(6)]

November

11/30/1977 - Elliott Company's plant-wide hard hat program. - [1910.135]
11/23/1977 - Supports required for safety nets. - [1926.105]
11/16/1977 - Positive identification of persons working underground in tunnels and shafts, caissons, cofferdams, compressed air tunnels. - [1926.800(c); 1926.803]

October

August

08/26/1977 - Construction of guardrails. - [1926.451(d)(10)]
08/24/1977 - Request for clarification on ground fault circuit interrupters on portable generators forwarded to the national office. - [1926.400(b)]
08/22/1977 - The wearing of hard hats. - [1910.135; 1910.132; 1926.100]
08/17/1977 - Allowable TLV of coke gases at the breathing levels of the employees. - [1926.700; 1926.55(a); 1926.154]

July

07/26/1977 - Presence sensing devices used to actuate mechanical power presses. - [1910.217]
07/21/1977 - OSHA's authority to take photographs during the course of an inspection. - [1903.7]
07/19/1977 - Fire wall requirements. - [1910.106]
07/01/1977 - Point of Operation Guarding, As Applied To The Dvorak Model 314 Iron Worker. - [1910.212]

June

06/29/1977 - The discharge from exits in the Blackwill Burner Company plant. - [1910.36; 1910.36(c)(1); 1910.36(c)(2)]
06/29/1977 - Wheel locks on rolling scaffold. - [1926.451]
06/24/1977 - A safety sleeve designed for guarding projecting shaft ends and a clarification of the term "safety sleeve". - [1910.219]
06/14/1977 - A request that the Automatic Nailing Machine be listed in 1910.217. - [1910.217]
06/14/1977 - Testing of the WindGard. - [1910.135]
06/14/1977 - The issuance of a Program Directive to clarify the applicability fo OSHA standards. - [1910.106]

May

05/20/1977 - It is acceptable to use material other than fiber rope for boatswain's chairs. - [1910.28(j)(2)]
05/19/1977 - Clarification of a regulated area for battery type coke ovens - [1910.1029(d)(2)(i)]
05/03/1977 - Proof testing, as a unit, certain types of alloy steel chain lifting devices. - [1910.184]

April

04/26/1977 - Aerial lifts and digger derricks used by utility companies. - [1926.550(a)(6); 1926.32(f)]
04/18/1977 - A formal interpretation of 1910.107. - [1910.107]
04/07/1977 - Misapplication of Rollover Protective Structures - [1926.1000; 1926.1001; 1926.1002]

March

February

02/22/1977 - Mechanical Power Presses. - [1910.217]
02/21/1977 - Newly Developed Hydrogen Storage Cylinders. - [1910.101]
02/10/1977 - Plugging into an unprotected outlet with a portable GFCI would be in violation of the standard. - [1926.401]
02/03/1977 - Double insulated tools on construction sites. - [1926.400]
02/03/1977 - Interpretation on metal manhole ladder standards. - [1910.268(h)(8)]

January

01/26/1977 - Guidance in relation to rules and regulations governing warehousing and transportation of powder-actuated tool cartridges. - [1910.109]
01/19/1977 - The storage of flammable and combustible liquids. - [1910.106]
01/14/1977 - Interpretation of Lockouts. - [1910.261(b)(1)]
01/10/1977 - Guarding of Punch Presses. - [1910.217]
01/10/1977 - The size of opening in the wire mesh mounted in the canopy structures of wheel and crawler tractors. - [1926.604]
01/04/1977 - Overhead and Gantry Cranes. - [1910.179]