What color must aisles and walkways be marked?

Under 1910.22(c), “Access and egress,” OSHA requires employers “provide and ensure each employee uses a safe means and access and egress to and from walking-working surfaces” in a workplace. This does not require that employers permanently mark aisles, walkways, or other traffic paths although doing so would meet this requirement. Cones, barriers, chains, etc. could also be used to meet this requirement. Again, the key is that employees are ensured safe access and egress.

If an employer chooses to permanently mark aisles, walkways, and other traffic paths, a May 15, 1972, Letter of Interpretation (LOI) says, “The lines used to delineate the aisles may be any color so long as they clearly define the area considered as aisle space. The lines may be composed of dots, square, strip or continuous, but they too must define the aisle area. The recommended width of aisle markings varies from 2 inches to 6 inches; therefore, any width 2 inches or more is considered acceptable.”

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z535.1-1998, Safety Color Code, recommends black, white, yellow, or a combination of black and yellow for traffic markings. Note: ANSI Z535.1-2002, Safety Color Code, and later editions no longer have safety color meanings, which appeared in the 1998 and earlier editions.