Source: http://www.ilpi.com/msds/osha/I20080523.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 14:44:55+00:00

Document:
05/23/2008 - Storage and use of compressed gas cylinders; whether cylinder is considered an oxidizing compressed gas or oxygen cylinder.
Title: 05/23/2008 - Storage and use of compressed gas cylinders; whether cylinder is considered an oxidizing compressed gas or oxygen cylinder.
31-01 20th Ave. Bldg. 136 2nd Fl.
Thank you for your letter of September 18, 2007, to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP). You had questions concerning standards applicable to the storage and use of compressed gas cylinders. Your paraphrased questions and our response follow.
Scenario: I have two compressed cylinders used for laboratory calibration of gas detectors. One cylinder contains 20.9% oxygen (balance nitrogen); the other contains 100% methane. The volume of each cylinder is approximately 2 cubic feet, and they are pressured at 2000 psi.
Question #1: What standards apply to the use, storage, and handling of these cylinders?
The standard further states, in §1910.101(b), that "the in-plant handling, storage, and utilization of all compressed gases in cylinders...shall be in accordance with Compressed Gas Association (CGA) Pamphlet P-1-1965." We note that there are more recent versions of the industry consensus standards that are referenced in §1910.101.2 If the more recent consensus standards address hazards associated with compressed gases that are not addressed in the CGA pamphlets referenced in the standard, §1910.101, §1910.1200, or any other applicable OSHA standard, the more recent consensus standards may provide support for a citation alleging a violation of the OSH Act's general duty clause, 29 USC 651(a)(1). If an employer is not in compliance with the requirements of an OSHA standard but is complying with the requirements of a current consensus standard that clearly provides equal or greater employee protection, the violation of OSHA's requirement will be treated as a de minimis violation. De minimis violations are those having no direct or immediate relationship to safety and health and result in no citation, penalty, or requirement to abate.
Get gas cylinder accessories such as tags, signs, and storage cabinets at Safety Emporium.
You stated in your letter that you are using these cylinders in a laboratory environment. OSHA's laboratory standard, §1910.1450, Occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals in laboratories, defines "hazardous chemical" as one that has been established to produce acute or chronic health effects in exposed employees. While methane is an asphyxiant, it does not produce the acute or chronic health effects described in 1910.1200 Appendix A to which the lab standard refers. However, methane does present an explosion or flammability hazard. Therefore, OSHA's Hazard communication standard, §1910.1200, would apply. The Hazard communication standard requires, among other things, that employees receive training with regard to the hazards associated with the chemicals with which they work, how to detect the presence of those chemicals in the workplace, and the measures required to protect themselves from those hazards.
Question #2: Is a cylinder that contains 20.9% oxygen (balance nitrogen) considered an oxygen cylinder or an oxidizing compressed gas?
Response #2 The cylinder contains 20.9% oxygen and 79.1% nitrogen, which is essentially compressed air.3 While air is technically an oxidizer, compressed air presents no greater oxidation hazard than that of the atmospheric air already present in the workplace. This position was reflected in OSHA's comparison of its Hazard communication standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, with the Global Harmonization System (GHS) for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (available on OSHA's website at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/GHSOSHAComparison.html). This document notes, in Section 2.4.2, that "[a]rtificial air containing up to 23.5% vol. oxygen % may be regarded as not oxidizing for some regulatory purposes (e.g. [sic] transport)." Therefore, the cylinder containing 20.9% oxygen would not be considered an oxygen cylinder or an oxidizing compressed gas for the purposes of 29 CFR 1910.101.
Gas cylinder storage cabinets and more are available from Safety Emporium.

References: §1910
 §1910
 §1910
 §1910
 §1910
 §1910