OSHA Instruction STD 1-5.15 NOV 9, 1979 Office of Compliance Programming

SUBJECT: 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b), Clarification of the Quantity of Liquid That May Be Located Outside of an Inside Storage Room or Storage Cabinet in a Building or in Any One Fire Area of a Building.

A. Purpose. This instruction provides guidelines for citing alleged violations resulting from the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b).

B. Scope. This instruction applies OSHA-Wide.

C. Action. OSHA Regional Administrators/Area Directors shall ensure that the enforcement of 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b) is consistent with the interpretation in paragraph E. of this instruction.

D. Federal Program Change. This instruction describes a Federal program

change which affects State programs. Each Regional Administrator shall:

1. Ensure that this change is forwarded to each State designee.

2. Explain the technical content of the change to the State designee as requested.

3. Ensure that State designees are asked to acknowledge receipt of this Federal program change in writing, within 30 days of notification, to the Regional Administrator. The acknowledgment should include a description either of the State's plan to implement the change or of the reasons why the change should not apply to that State.

4. Review policies, instructions and guidelines issued by the State to determine that this change has been communicated to State program personnel. Routine monitoring activities (accompanied inspections and case file reviews) shall also be used to determine if this change has been implemented in actual performance.

OSHA Instruction STD 1-5.15 NOV 9, 1979 Office of Compliance Programming

E. Requirements.

1. 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b) requires that the quantity of liquid that may be located outside of an inside storage room or storage cabinet in a building, or in any one fire area of a building shall not exceed:

a. 25 gallons of Class IA liquids in containers.

b. 120 gallons of Class IB, IC, or II or III liquids in containers.

c. 660 gallons of Class IB, IC, II or III liquids in a single portable tank.

2. Some Area Directors have interpreted these requirements to permit employers the choice of one of the three options. In other words, under this interpretation, if 25 gallons of Class IA liquids was stored in containers outside of an inside storage room or storage cabinet in a building, no additional quantity of Class IB, IC, II, or III liquids would be allowed. This is contrary to the intended meaning of this standard.

3. The source document, NFPA No. 30-1969 Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, requires the following:

The quantity of liquid that may be located outside of an inside storage room or storage cabinet in a building shall not exceed that given in (a), (b) and (c).

OSHA Instruction STD 1-5.15 NOV 9, 1979 Office of Compliance Programming

This means that any combination of the permitted quantities of various classes of flammable liquids is allowed so long as the maximum permitted quantity for any one of the three categories is not exceeded.

Grover C. Wrenn Director, Federal Compliance and State Programs

DISTRIBUTION: National, Regional and Area Offices All Compliance Officers State Designees NIOSH Regional Program Directors