for its content.
EPA FACILITIES MANUAL, VOLUME 3 Safety, Health, and Environmental Manual: Safety and Health Requirements United States
Office of
July 2004
Environmental Protection
Administration and
Agency
Resources Management (2304)
EPA FACILITIES MANUAL, VOLUME 3
Safety, Health, and
Environmental Manual:
Safety and Health
Requirements
Printed on Recycled Paper
Safety, Health and Environmental Management:

Safety and Health Requirements
July 2004 Foreword
The EPA Facilities Manual is comprised of four distinct, yet complementary resources for planning and
managing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) facilities. These four volumes are meant to be used
simultaneously to determine design intent, requirements, and the ongoing evaluation of all EPA facilities.
The use of one volume without reference to the other three would result in an incomplete understanding
of the requirements for EPA facilities.
Volume 1: The Space Acquisition and Planning Guidelines contain information on space planning,
space estimation, environment, materials, furniture, process, and maintenance. EPAs
Office of Administration and Resources Management developed this document to help EPA
facilities managers, space managers, and line personnel plan and use their space.
Volume 2: The Architecture and Engineering Guidelines (referred to as the A&E Guidelines) provide
guidance for facilities management, engineering, planning, and architecture professionals in
the design and construction of new EPA facilities and the evaluation of existing facilities.
Volume 3: The Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Manual: Safety and Health
Requirements outlines safety and health considerations for owned or leased EPA facilities.
The Manuals goal is to maintain a safe and healthful workplace that protects against injury,
illness, and loss of life.
Volume 4: The Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Manual: Environmental Management
Guidelines, establishes environmental specifications to be addressed by designers and
managers of EPA facilities and related building systems.
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Safety, Health and Environmental Management:

Safety and Health Requirements
July 2004 Safety, Health and Environmental Manual:
Safety and Health Requirements
CONTENTS
1.
Introduction
4.9
Rad iation S afety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 1.1
Purp ose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2
Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
5.
Indoo r Air Quality 1.3
Autho rity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.1
Purp ose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 1.4
EPA Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.2
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 1.5
Req uirem ents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.3
Ge neral R equireme nts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 5.4
Sou rces o f Airbo rne C ontam inants . . . . 42 2.
Fire Life Safety
5.5
Diagnosing IAQ Problems . . . . . . . . . . . 43 2.1
Purp ose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.6
Mitigating IAQ Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.2
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.7
Acceptable W orkplace Tem perature and 2.3
Classification of Occupancies . . . . . . . . . 6
Hu midity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 2.4
Types of Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.5
Fixed Fire Suppression Systems . . . . . . . 10
Appendix A List of Standards and 2.6
Portable Fire Extinguishers . . . . . . . . . . 11
References 2.7
Fire and Smoke D etectors . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2.8
Smoke Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
App end ix B G lossa ry 2.9
M eans of Eg ress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.10
Fire Life Safety Requirements for
Appendix C List of Acronyms and
Specific Room Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Abbreviations
2.11
Safety for the Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2.12
Emergency Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Index 2.13
Lightning Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3.
Electrical Safety
3.1
Purp ose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.2
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.3
Overcurrent Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.4
Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.5
Lockout/Tagout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.6
Classified Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.7
Power Transmission and Distribution . . 25 3.8
Underground Electrical Installations . . . 26 3.9
Energized Substations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.10
Use of Portable Space H eaters . . . . . . . . 27 4.
Che mical an d Lab oratory Safe ty
4.1
Purp ose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 4.2
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 4.3
Safety and Health Program . . . . . . . . . . 30 4.4
Employee T raining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 4.5
Personal Protective Equipment . . . . . . . 30 4.6
Chemical Storage and M anagement . . . . 31 4.7
Emergency Eq uipment and Showers . . . 34 4.8
Laboratory Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 iii
Safety, Health and Environmental Management:

Safety and Health Requirements
July 2004 Chapter 1 - Introduction
1.1
Purpose
The purpose of this Manual is to detail safety and health considerations for facilities that are
owned, leased, or occupied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The considerations
or criteria in this Manual describe the full scope of the facility features required in EPA-occupied
facilities to maintain a safe and healthful workplace, and may exceed local codes or federal
standards, which generally describe minimum requirements necessary to protect against injury,
illness, and loss of life. The criteria in this Manual are provided for EPA facilities in order to
establish the following objectives:

Providing reasonable safeguards against injury, occupational illness, and loss of life

Preventing fire exposure, public health hazards, and environmental damage to the
communities that surround EPA facilities

Preventing loss of government real and personal property

Preventing interruption of government operations

Promoting the health, well-being, and productivity of occupants.
1.2
Scope
The facility safety and health criteria described in this Manual apply to facilities owned or leased
by EPA, and facilities assigned to EPA by the General Services Administration (GSA) or other
government agencies. In this Manual, owned and leased facilities shall be referred to as EPA
facilities. The criteria in this Manual, along with the criteria in the Architecture and
Engineering Guidelines (A&E Guidelines), are mandatory for new construction or new leased
space. Where meeting these criteria at existing facilities does not seem feasible, consult the
Architecture, Engineering and Asset Management Branch (AEAMB) for advice or a waiver.
Under special circumstances, a waiver may be granted by the Safety, Health and Environmental
Management Division (SHEMD).
EPA-occupied facilities shall comply with the requirements provided by the EPA, NFPA,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), GSA, and state and local building and
fire prevention codes. If conflicts exist between state or local criteria and the criteria set forth in
this Manual, the more stringent criteria shall apply. If there are conflicts between the local code
and a model code, the discrepancy will be brought to the attention of AEAMB and SHEMD for
resolution.
1 Safety, Health, and Environmental Manual:
July 2004
Safety and Health Requirements
1.3
Authority
Authority for the criteria set forth in this Manual is based on the latest approved editions of the
following codes, references, and standards. Years and publication dates specifically stated in this
Manual reflect the version in use when the revised version of this Manual was written and
published. When using the referenced standards listed below, ensure that the latest edition or
version is current and has not been superseded.

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

29 CFR Part 1910, General Industry Standards

EPA manuals, directives, and SHEMD program requirements

Federal Executive Orders

GSA, Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service (PBS-P100)

Model building codes, such as the International Building Code (IBC)

Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS).
Appendix A, List of Standards and References, provides a more comprehensive list of the
sources mentioned in the Manual. In addition, a glossary is included as Appendix B to facilitate
understanding of the terminology used throughout the Manual.
1.4
EPA Responsibilities
This section describes the responsibilities assigned to divisions or departments within EPA for
enforcing the criteria set forth in this Manual.

AEAMB is responsible for ensuring that the design and construction of EPA facilities
comply with local codes as well as with the criteria described herein.

AEAMB and SHEMD are jointly responsible for ensuring that EPA facil