Scope and application

This standard applies to diving and related support operations in U.S. waters and U.S. jurisdictions listed in the rule. The rule states that Subpart T applies to every place of employment "within the waters of the United States, or within any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, the Canal Zone, or within the Outer Continental Shelf lands" as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; see 1910.401(a).

This standard covers diving and related support operations conducted in connection with all types of work, including general industry, construction, ship repairing, shipbuilding, shipbreaking, and longshoring. See 1910.401(a)(2) for the full list of covered activities.

No. Subpart T does not apply to diving operations performed solely for instructional purposes using open-circuit, compressed-air SCUBA conducted within the no-decompression limits. That exclusion is explicitly carved out in 1910.401(a)(2)(i).

No. Diving operations performed solely for search, rescue, or related public safety purposes by or under the control of a governmental agency are excluded from Subpart T. See 1910.401(a)(2)(ii).

Yes, if the diving is governed by 45 CFR part 46 or an equivalent federal-agency rule for research involving human subjects, those diving operations are excluded from Subpart T, per 1910.401(a)(2)(iii).

A diving safety manual must include, at a minimum, procedures covering all diving operations specific to the program, procedures for emergency care (including recompression and evacuation), and criteria for diver training and certification. Meeting this requirement is part of the definition of scientific diving that can be excluded from Subpart T; see 1910.401(a)(2)(iv)(A).

The diving control (safety) board must have authority to approve and monitor diving projects; review and revise the diving safety manual; assure compliance with the manual; certify the depths to which a diver has been trained; take disciplinary action for unsafe practices; and assure adherence to the buddy system for SCUBA diving. These requirements are listed in 1910.401(a)(2)(iv)(B).

Employers of recreational diving instructors and guides may be exempt from the decompression-chamber requirements in specified paragraphs of other standards when all five conditions in 1910.401(a)(3) are met: the instructor/guide is solely engaged in recreational instruction or guiding; diving is within no-decompression limits; a nitrox mixture with more than 22% oxygen is used; an open-, semi-closed-, or closed-circuit SCUBA is used; and the employer complies with all requirements of appendix C of the subpart. Note that the exemption specifically relates to decompression-chamber requirements in 1910.423(b)(2) and 1910.423(c)(3)(iii) and 1910.426(b)(1).

It means the diving that the instructor or guide conducts is planned and executed so that no decompression stops are required during ascent under the dive tables or computer settings being used. The condition is part of the five criteria in 1910.401(a)(3) that permit alternative requirements for recreational instructors and guides.

Using a nitrox breathing-gas mixture with more than 22% oxygen is one of the required conditions that, when combined with the other criteria in 1910.401(a)(3), allows employers of recreational diving instructors and guides to be exempt from specific decompression-chamber requirements in 1910.423 and 1910.426 provided all the alternative conditions are met.

Yes. The alternative requirements allow use of open-circuit, semi-closed-circuit, or closed-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) as one of the five required conditions in 1910.401(a)(3).

The employer must comply with all requirements of appendix C of Subpart T. Compliance with appendix C is explicitly required as condition (v) in 1910.401(a)(3). (Employers should review appendix C of the subpart for the full list of conditions and procedures to be met.)

Yes. An employer may deviate from the standard to the extent necessary to prevent or minimize death, serious physical harm, or major environmental damage, but must notify the OSHA Area Director within 48 hours about the emergency and nature and extent of the deviation, and must submit requested information in writing upon the Area Director's request; see 1910.401(b) and its subsections 1910.401(b)(1) and 1910.401(b)(2).

Possibly, if the university's diving program meets the definition of scientific diving by having the required diving safety manual and a diving control (safety) board with the authorities listed in 1910.401(a)(2)(iv)(A) and 1910.401(a)(2)(iv)(B). Meeting those elements is the basis for the scientific-diving exclusion in 1910.401(a)(2)(iv).

Yes. The standard explicitly applies to diving and related support operations conducted in connection with ship repairing, shipbuilding, shipbreaking and longshoring, as well as general industry and construction; see 1910.401(a)(2).

It refers to the common scuba equipment where exhaled gas is vented to the water and the breathing supply is compressed air carried by the diver; Subpart T excludes training dives that use this open-circuit, compressed-air SCUBA when those dives are conducted solely for instruction and stay within no-decompression limits, per 1910.401(a)(2)(i).

When all five conditions in 1910.401(a)(3) are satisfied, employers are not required to comply with the decompression-chamber requirements specified by paragraphs (b)(2) and (c)(3)(iii) of 1910.423 and paragraph (b)(1) of 1910.426. Ensure all five conditions are fully met before relying on this alternative.

The employer must notify the Area Director within 48 hours indicating the nature of the emergency and the extent of the deviation from the prescribed regulations. This requirement is set out in 1910.401(b)(1).

No. The alternative applies only when the instructor or guide is engaging solely in recreational diving instruction or dive-guiding operations, as stated in 1910.401(a)(3)(i). If the employee performs commercial or other non-recreational diving, the alternative does not apply.