OSHA Oxygen Concentration Standards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has developed standards that provide protection of the health and safety of American workers. These standards specify the minimum oxygen concentration that must be present in any enclosed work area. If oxygen concentrations cannot be maintained through mitigation efforts, employers are required to provide equipment that will supply breathing oxygen to employees when they are working.

Significance

• According to OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, an oxygen level below 19.5 percent is oxygen-deficient and immediately dangerous to life or health. Employers who have work environments with deficient oxygen concentrations must provide their employees with a form of auxiliary oxygen that ensures the health and safety of workers. Employees cannot be forced to work in an oxygen deficient environment.

Consequences

• If the oxygen concentration in a work environment falls to 10 to 14 percent, employees will begin to exhibit deficiencies very quickly. Workers will exhibit lack of judgment and difficulty breathing, and will tire easily. If oxygen concentrations are reduced to 6 to 10 percent workers will become nauseous and may become unconscious. If the air your employees are breathing has an oxygen concentration of less than 6 percent they may cease to breath and experience cardiac arrest.

Hazard Control

• The first step in protecting your employees from exposure to an oxygen-deficient work environment is to identify the hazard. Once the hazard is identified, administrative controls are used to limit the amount of time each worker is exposed to the hazard. If administrative controls are not sufficient to protect workers, the next step is to re-engineer and restructure the work environment so workers do not need to enter the hazardous environment to accomplish their duties.

Oxygen Quality

• When the oxygen concentration in a work area cannot be maintained at 19.5 percent concentration, the employer must furnish workers with sufficient breathing oxygen to maintain a healthy environment. The oxygen furnished through the breathing system must meet the requirements for medical or breathing oxygen in accordance with the U.S. Pharmacopoeia requirements. USP requirements are standards for the expected purity of all drugs and other elements designated for human consumption.

Oxygen Delivery

• Respirators must be fit-tested and inspected for cleanliness before being used in an oxygen-deficient work area. Poor fit may allow oxygen to escape or contaminates from the work area to enter the respirator. The supplied air should come from breathing air compressors or breathing air cylinders that have been maintained according to the requirements of the Department of Transportation. Oxygen supply systems must be inspected and maintained sufficiently to secure against the entrance of contaminates.