{"id":5177,"date":"2021-09-22T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oshadefensereport.com\/?p=5177"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:14:57","slug":"osha-launches-regional-emphasis-program-focused-on-storage-tank-cleaning-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.connmaciel.com\/osha-defense-report\/osha-launches-regional-emphasis-program-focused-on-storage-tank-cleaning-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"OSHA Launches Regional Emphasis Program Focused on Storage Tank Cleaning Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Aaron R. Gelb<\/a><\/p>\n

On August 2, 2021, OSHA announced a new Regional Emphasis Program<\/a> (\u201cREP\u201d) focused on transportation tank cleaning operations in the rail and truck shipping industries.\u00a0 This is the second REP launched in Region 5 in less than a month; on June 14, 2021, OSHA commenced an REP to address hazardous noise levels in the Midwest. Employers who perform tank cleaning operations in Region 5, which covers Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Indiana, would be well-advised to dust off their copy of Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s OSHA Inspection Toolkit <\/a>and take the necessary steps to ensure they are ready for the inspections that will begin before the end of the year.<\/p>\n

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Why Is OSHA Targeting Tank Cleaning Operations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the REP and accompanying press release, OSHA places a special emphasis on the dangers posed by the exposure to toxic fumes from cleaning chemicals or stored products that can build up inside a storage tank, as well as risks of fire or explosion when a worker must handle volatile materials in confined spaces.\u00a0 Additionally, OSHA warns that the workers cleaning these tanks may \u201cface many serious and potentially deadly hazards caused by toxic fumes from chemicals, decaying crops, waste and other substances that can expose workers to suffocation, fires and explosions.\u201d OSHA also highlighted several fatal accidents that occurred in the Midwest, noting that Region 5 has investigated 23 worker deaths and 97 incidents in the transportation and tank cleaning industries since 2016. \u00a0According to OSHA, the hazards most often found during these inspections involved the failure to prevent the inhalation of harmful substances and to follow procedures for permit-required confined space requirements.<\/p>\n

Which Employers Will Be Targeted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The directive notes that it covers \u201cworksites in the business of cleaning, repair and maintaining transportation tanks,\u201d listed as general freight trucking, support activities for rail or road transportation, waste remediation, freight transportation arrangement, materials recovery and \u201call other miscellaneous waste management services.\u201d<\/p>\n

It continues that the initiative \u201cwill focus on employers in industries typically engaged in tank cleaning activities, including trucking, rail and road transportation, remediation services, material recovery and waste management services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Should I Be Concerned About a Regional Emphasis Program?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While most employers understand that OSHA can inspect their workplace in response to an employee complaint, a referral, or a self-reported serious incident such as a fatality, amputation, or in-patient hospitalization, programmed inspections enable the agency to randomly select employers based simply on their NAICS Code.\u00a0 In other words, you can be selected for an inspection even if you have a spotless safety record and zero recordables simply because you operate in a certain industry.<\/p>\n

Also, emphasis program inspections such as this are typically combined with other inspections to broaden the areas into which OSHA will look at your operations.\u00a0 As such, inspections prompted by complaints, referrals or incidents at a facility that performs tank cleaning, even if the initial circumstances do not involve that job task will be expanded to cover your tank cleaning operations.\u00a0 Likewise, if OSHA arrives at your facility to conduct an inspection under this REP and it determines that you are also on the list for another programmed inspection such as the National Emphasis Program on amputations or OSHA\u2019s Site-Specific Targeting Program, your tank cleaning inspection will grow in scope.<\/p>\n

What Can Employers Expect During an Inspection Under This REP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Directive, inspections conducted under this REP will include all areas at a covered facility where transportation tank cleaning operations are performed.\u00a0 While the REP does not give a compliance officer the authority to conduct a wall-to-wall inspection, the scope of these inspections can cover significant portions of covered worksites depending on the extent of tank cleaning operations at such sites.<\/p>\n

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At the outset of the inspection, the compliance officer will request and evaluate the following aspects of the covered employer\u2019s worksite:<\/p>\n