29 C.F.R. §§ 1926.1204–1926.1211

Specifying acceptable entry conditions;

Providing each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative with the opportunity to observe any monitoring or testing of permit spaces;

Isolating the permit space and physical hazard(s) within the space;

Purging, inerting, flushing, or ventilating the permit space as necessary to eliminate or control atmospheric hazards;

Determining that, in the event the ventilation system stops working, the monitoring procedures will detect an increase in atmospheric hazard levels in sufficient time for the entrants to safely exit the permit space;

Providing pedestrian, vehicle, or other barriers as necessary to protect entrants from external hazards;

Verifying that conditions in the permit space are acceptable for entry throughout the duration of an authorized entry, and ensuring that employees are not allowed to enter into, or remain in, a permit space with a hazardous atmosphere unless the employer can demonstrate that personal protective equipment (PPE) will provide effective protection for each employee in the permit space and provides the appropriate PPE to each employee; and

Eliminating any conditions (for example, high pressure) that could make it unsafe to remove an entrance cover.

Testing and monitoring equipment needed to comply with paragraph (e) of this section;

Ventilating equipment needed to obtain acceptable entry conditions;

Communications equipment necessary for compliance with §§ 1926.1208(c) and 1926.1209(e), including any necessary electronic communication equipment for attendants assessing entrants' status in multiple spaces;

Personal protective equipment insofar as feasible engineering and work-practice controls do not adequately protect employees;

Lighting equipment that meets the minimum illumination requirements in § 1926.56, that is approved for the ignitable or combustible properties of the specific gas, vapor, dust, or fiber that will be present, and that is sufficient to enable employees to see well enough to work safely and to exit the space quickly in an emergency;

Barriers and shields as required by paragraph (c)(4) of this section;

Equipment, such as ladders, needed for safe ingress and egress by authorized entrants;

Rescue and emergency equipment needed to comply with paragraph (i) of this section, except to the extent that the equipment is provided by rescue services; and

Test conditions in the permit space to determine if acceptable entry conditions exist before changes to the space's natural ventilation are made, and before entry is authorized to begin, except that, if an employer demonstrates that isolation of the space is infeasible because the space is large or is part of a continuous system (such as a sewer), the employer must:

Continuously monitor atmospheric hazards unless the employer can demonstrate that the equipment for continuously monitoring a hazard is not commercially available or that periodic monitoring is of sufficient frequency to ensure that the atmospheric hazard is being controlled at safe levels. If continuous monitoring is not used, periodic monitoring is required with sufficient frequency to ensure that acceptable entry conditions are being maintained during the course of entry operations;

When testing for atmospheric hazards, test first for oxygen, then for combustible gases and vapors, and then for toxic gases and vapors;

Provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative an opportunity to observe the pre-entry and any subsequent testing or monitoring of permit spaces;

Reevaluate the permit space in the presence of any authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative who requests that the employer conduct such reevaluation because there is some indication that the evaluation of that space may not have been adequate; and

Immediately provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative with the results of any testing conducted in accordance with this section.

Attendants may be assigned to more than one permit space provided the duties described in § 1926.1209 can be effectively performed for each permit space.

Attendants may be stationed at any location outside the permit space as long as the duties described in § 1926.1209 can be effectively performed for each permit space to which the attendant is assigned.

Cancel the entry permit when the entry operations covered by the entry permit have been completed; or

Suspend or cancel the entry permit and fully reassess the space before allowing reentry when a condition that is not allowed under the entry permit arises in or near the permit space and that condition is temporary in nature and does not change the configuration of the space or create any new hazards within it; and

Cancel the entry permit when a condition that is not allowed under the entry permit arises in or near the permit space and that condition is not covered by paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

In both a language and vocabulary that the employee can understand;

Before the employee is first assigned duties under this standard;

Before there is a change in assigned duties;

Whenever there is a change in permit space entry operations that presents a hazard about which an employee has not previously been trained; and

Whenever there is any evidence of a deviation from the permit space entry procedures required by § 1926.1204(c) or there are inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use of these procedures.

If there is a prohibited condition;

If the behavioral effects of hazard exposure are apparent in an authorized entrant;

If there is a situation outside the space that could endanger the authorized entrants; or

If the attendant cannot effectively and safely perform all the duties required under this section;

Warns the unauthorized persons that they must stay away from the permit space;

Advises the unauthorized persons that they must exit immediately if they have entered the permit space; and

Informs the authorized entrants and the entry supervisor if unauthorized persons have entered the permit space;

Evaluate a prospective rescuer's ability to respond to a rescue summons in a timely manner, considering the hazard(s) identified;

Evaluate a prospective rescue service's ability, in terms of proficiency with rescue-related tasks and equipment, to function appropriately while rescuing entrants from the particular permit space or types of permit spaces identified;

Inform each rescue team or service of the hazards they may confront when called on to perform rescue at the site; and

Provide the rescue team or service selected with access to all permit spaces from which rescue may be necessary so that the rescue team or service can develop appropriate rescue plans and practice rescue operations.

Provide each affected employee with the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to conduct permit space rescues safely and train each affected employee so the employee is proficient in the use of that PPE;

Train each affected employee to perform assigned rescue duties. The employer must ensure that such employees successfully complete the training required and establish proficiency as authorized entrants, as provided by §§ 1926.1207 and 1926.1208;

Train each affected employee in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The employer must ensure that at least one member of the rescue team or service holding a current certification in basic first aid and CPR is available; and

Ensure that affected employees practice making permit space rescues before attempting an actual rescue, and at least once every 12 months, by means of simulated rescue operations in which they remove dummies, manikins, or actual persons from the actual permit spaces or from representative permit spaces, except practice rescue is not required where the affected employees properly performed a rescue operation during the last 12 months in the same permit space the authorized entrant will enter, or in a similar permit space. Representative permit spaces must, with respect to opening size, configuration, and accessibility, simulate the types of permit spaces from which rescue is to be performed.

Each authorized entrant must use a chest or full body harness, with a retrieval line attached at the center of the entrant's back near shoulder level, above the entrant's head, or at another point which the employer can establish presents a profile small enough for the successful removal of the entrant. Wristlets or anklets may be used in lieu of the chest or full body harness if the employer can demonstrate that the use of a chest or full body harness is infeasible or creates a greater hazard and that the use of wristlets or anklets is the safest and most effective alternative.

The other end of the retrieval line must be attached to a mechanical device or fixed point outside the permit space in such a manner that rescue can begin as soon as the rescuer becomes aware that rescue is necessary. A mechanical device must be available to retrieve personnel from vertical type permit spaces more than 5 feet (1.52 meters) deep.

Equipment that is unsuitable for retrieval must not be used, including, but not limited to, retrieval lines that have a reasonable probability of becoming entangled with the retrieval lines used by other authorized entrants, or retrieval lines that will not work due to the internal configuration of the permit space.