Confined Space: Do you recognize the dangers and hazards?

It is imperative that employers evaluate their work places to determine if confined space exists. Employees who work in confined space face significant health and safety hazards such as entrapment, engulfment and hazardous atmospheric conditions. Many workplaces contain spaces that are considered "confined" because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter, work in, and exit them. OSHA defines a confined space as an area having a limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and a space that is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. OSHA states on their website that the most unfavorable situation exists in every confined space case and that the danger of explosion, poisoning, and asphyxiation will be present at the onset of entry. "A confined space can be more hazardous than regular work spaces for many reasons (CCOHS)."

Confined spaces include, but are not limited to underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, manholes, pits, silos, process vessels, and pipelines. OSHA uses the term "permit-required confined space" (permit space) to describe a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential to engulf an entrant; has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area which could trap or asphyxiate an entrant; or contains any other recognized safety or health hazard, such as unguarded machinery, exposed live wires, or heat stress.

If a workplace contains confined space, it is the responsibility of the employer to inform the exposed employees of their existence, location and the hazards they pose. If employees are not to enter and work in permit space, employers must take effective measures to prevent them from entering these spaces. Recent U.S. Federal statistics show that there are 238,853 establishments containing more than 4.8 million Permit Required Confined Spaces in the United States. Employers must develop and effectively implement written programs for confined spaces. This number does not take into account the non-permit required confined spaces. Employers who allow worker to enter confined spaces must develop and implement a written program for the space. The program must take into consideration items such as: identifying and evaluating space hazards, test atmospheric conditions in the space, provide personal protective equipment for safe entry, require employees to use protective equipment, implement procedures for rescue and emergency services and much more.

Before entering a confined space, a trained worker must first evaluate the space and determine if it is safe to enter. It is important that they identify and evaluate all the potential hazards. One important step is testing the air quality inside the space. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety recommends that the testing should show: the oxygen content is within safe limits - not too little and not too much, a hazardous atmosphere (toxic gases, flammable atmosphere) is not present, and ventilation equipment is operating properly. If the trained employee identified hazardous conditions, they must immediately leave the space.

For confined space protection: http://www.hysafe.com/ 800-642-0775

Sources:
http://www.osha.gov/
"Confined Space - Introduction." Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Web. 16 Oct. 2009.
"Confined Space Entry." Facility Safety Management July 2009: 20-23. Print.