What are the OSHA requirements for emergency lighting in a facility?

OSHA only states that each exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route. However, OSHA requires compliance with the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. NFPA 101 states at Section 7.9 that illumination will be provided for 1 ½ hours in case normal light fails and arranging the lighting to provide initial illumination that is not less than an average of one foot-candle and a minimum at any point of 0.1 foot-candle measured along the path of exit at floor level.

NFPA 101 also states that testing of the system must be conducted on every required emergency lighting system at 30-day intervals for not less than 30 seconds. An annual test shall be conducted on every required battery-powered system for not less than 1 ½ hours.

For more detailed information on emergency lighting, see Section 7.9 of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101 Life Safety Code.