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Nominal pipe diameter for guardrails

Summary A structural-steel company asked about the required diameter of pipe guardrails. OSHA referred to its nominal-diameter directive and said the described standard pipe met the guardrail size requirement. OSHA archives the letter.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1976-01-21
Date issued
January 21, 1976
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1910 Guardrails
Source
View the official document

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OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

January 21, 1976

Mr. F. Ward Hendee
Chief Draftsman
Vermont Structural Steel, Corp.
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Hendee:

This is in response to your letter dated December 2, 1975, and confirms the telephone conversation between Mr. Barnier and a member of my staff concerning the diameter of standard pipe railings (29 CFR 1910.23(e)(3)(ii)).

The meaning of "nominal diameter" is explained in OSHA Program Directive #100-4 (copy enclosed) dated March 23, 1972. A "standard 1 1/4 inch 0 pipe (O.D. 1.660 inches)" meets the size requirements for pipe used in the construction of guard rails.

If I may be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

John K. Barto, Chief
Division of Occupational Safety Programming

Enclosure

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