March 12, 1997

Mike Riffe
Safety and Health Manager
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 59
Portland, OR 97207

Mr. Riffe:

This letter is in response to your letter of January 23, 1997, requesting clarifications on the statusof fish hatcheries in regards to OAR 437-81, "Agriculture," specifically the issue of confinedspaces, guardrails, and community emergency medical services.

The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual of 1987 lists fish hatcheries as having a SICcode of 0921. This SIC places you within the scope of OAR 437-02, "General OccupationalSafety and Health Rules." As such, the requirements of OAR 437-02, Subdivision D, "Walking-Working Surfaces," which addresses guardrails, apply to fish hatcheries.

Fish rearing ponds may be classified as confined spaces if they meet the definition of a confinedspace; that is, if it is large enough for an employee to bodily enter and perform work, has alimited or restricted means of entry or exit, and is not designed for continuous employeeoccupancy. If all three of these conditions are met, then the space is a confined space. In thecase of your consultation, it was determined that the fish rearing ponds did meet this definition.

If the space contains, or has the potential to contain, a hazardous atmosphere, contains a materialthat can engulf an entrant, if an entrant can become trapped inside, or if there are any serioussafety or health hazards, then the space would be considered a permit-required confined space. In the case of your fish rearing ponds, you would need to evaluate any potential hazards to makethe determination if they fall into that category.

However, if any of the three criteria for a confined space were eliminated, the space may nolonger be classified as a confined space. For example, placing portable staircases in the fish runswhen employees enter them may elimate the second condition of a limited or restricted means ofentry or exit. The space then may no longer be classified as a confined space.

In regards to the issue of the effectiveness of community emergency medical services, in areaswhere life-threatening or permanently disabling injuries or illnesses can be expected, animmediate response time is required. If outside professionals cannot administer aid to injuredemployees within a relatively quick response time, on-site personnel must be adequately trainedto render first aid.

Many fish hatcheries are quite remote and could not normally depend on community emergencyservices if there were injuries requiring medical attention. This was the case with the twohatcheries that were the subject of your consultations. Other hatcheries within the state may bein much closer proximity to such services.

We hope this answers your question regarding this matter. If you have any questions or if wecan be of further assistance, please contact David McLaughlin at (503) 378-3272.

Sincerely,

David Sparks, Deputy Administrator
Department of Consumer and Business Services
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division

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