Close quarters

According to OSHA, about 90 deaths involving confined spaces occur every year. Such incidents may occur because workers and employers do not know what confined spaces actually are or what dangers may lurk inside. One study concluded 40 percent of confined space fatalities involve attempted rescuers.

Defining confined spaces

Generally, a confined space is large enough for a person to enter, has limited or restricted means of exit, and is not designed for continuous human occupancy. Everything from tanks and tunnels to manholes and silos can be considered confined spaces.

Confined spaces do not always have to be an area with only one opening. An area may have several openings but would still be considered a confined space if those openings are 15 feet off the ground. Likewise, a space with multiple openings can be considered a confined space if a worker has to crawl under and over various obstructions to get to the opening.

A “permit-required” confined space contains one or more of the following characteristics:
• A hazardous atmosphere or the potential for one
• Material, such as grain, that could potentially engulf an individual
• Walls converging inward or floors sloping downward and tapering into a smaller area that could trap or asphyxiate an individual
• Any other recognized safety or health hazards, including unguarded machinery and heat stress
Employers are required to alert workers of the location and the dangers of permit-required confined spaces. This can be done with signs or by other methods.

The buddy system
To help protect a worker inside a confined space, many stakeholders consider it a best practice to have a second worker on the outside. OSHA advises these workers to always maintain contact through either visual, phone or radio means. This monitoring allows the attendant to order the worker in the confined space to evacuate, and to contact emergency personnel to help with rescue if necessary.

Although not all types of work require an outside individual, it is a best practice for that worker to monitor the situation, and some states have enacted provisions requiring the second worker regardless of the type of work.

A confined space may have been tested to be clear for entrance, but an airborne contaminant may be at ground level in the confined space and not noticeable until the employee begins to work at the lower level. That individual could then be overcome by the substance and pass out.

It’s important to have a second person above ground. This outside worker should be trained in first aid and CPR and should be able to perform emergency procedures that could include helping the worker get out of the confined space.

Training
Employers are failing to adequately train employees about working in confined spaces. Instead of going through proper procedures, warning employees of all possible hazards and explaining precautions to take, employers are focusing on completing the work.
Workers should be trained on the dangers they could face in a confined space, procedures for safe entry and exit, and what protective gear they should have. Employers also should train workers on the company’s written confined space program, including air monitoring, safe work practices, lockout/tagout and an emergency action plan.

Proper equipment
The confined space equipment has to be checked to make sure it is still in good shape. If damaged, it may not operate effectively, putting workers at risk. Take a look at the equipment you have and make an honest assessment of the useful life of it. A lot of stuff gets thrown around and it takes abuse it was never meant to take.

Emergency response
Workers in confined spaces should be hooked up to equipment that can retrieve them if they are overcome. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. They have to crawl over and under pipes that are in that space. In those situations, workers may have to unhook from retrieval equipment. If something goes wrong, that individual will not be quickly pulled out – the attendant on the outside no longer has visual contact, and cannot safely go into the confined space without proper protection against whatever incapacitated the victim.

Some worksites have emergency response teams on standby, and have established a relationship with local emergency services. All personnel should be trained on emergency procedures, a written plan and the emergency retrieval systems. Employees should know all potential hazards, and none should attempt a rescue without being trained, he added. Rescue scenarios could be avoided if proper safety procedures are followed beforehand – even with pressures to get the job done quickly.

Hazards

Confined spaces have many unique hazards in addition to the “regular” hazards – ergonomics or struck-bys, for example – that workers may come across in a non-confined space setting. Even typical work-related hazards can be exacerbated by the conditions inside a confined space.

Health
The leading cause of death in confined spaces is asphyxiation, generally the result of oxygen deficiency or exposure to toxic atmospheres, according to OSHA. Additionally, the lack of ventilation in a confined space increases a worker’s potential for exposure to any airborne hazard.

Before entering a confined space, workers should test the atmosphere for sufficient oxygen content. Blower equipment may be needed to ensure proper ventilation and continuous ventilation to ensure the hazardous atmosphere does not re-form while workers are inside. However, blowers may not be effective in all confined spaces, such as older manholes that are deep and narrow.

While low oxygen content is an expected hazard in confined spaces, hazardous chemicals such as gasoline can leach into confined spaces as well – unbeknownst to workers until they are inside the area. As an example, he pointed to manholes – hundreds of thousands exist across the country, and records on their conditions are poor. Manholes of particular concern are those “in concentrated geographical areas – areas with lot of people, thus a greater amount of industry and contaminants.”

But busy metropolitan areas are not the only places hazardous chemicals or substances can enter confined spaces. Areas near gas stations may be at risk for chemicals leaching into nearby confined spaces.

Heat
Temperatures in a confined space can reach dangerous levels, especially in hotter climates and confined spaces that are metal tanks. To protect workers from heat stress or heat stroke, Colonna recommended instituting work-rest procedures that limit employees to 15 minutes of work in a hot enclosed space. In scenarios with extreme temperatures, work-rest procedures alone may not be the safest option – employers may need to design and install air-conditioning units to lower the temperature.

Lighting
Being able to see is often an important part of getting work done. Unfortunately, a confined space normally doesn’t come with installed overhead lighting for your convenience. As a result, additional hazards – such as slips, trips or falls – can arise. Employers should equip employees working in confined spaces with hard hats to protect their heads from inadvertent strikes.

Also, not every light source is certified for a confined space environment. In an environment with a flammable atmosphere, any unapproved electrical lighting source could have unprotected circuitry. Gases and vapors can then get inside the circuitry and, when the light is turned on, ignite.

Cramped quarters
The layout of a confined space may force workers to be careful about how they position themselves. Employees might end up in a position that makes it difficult to move while working, and even getting to the location where the work is to be conducted can be difficult and hard on the body. Employers should monitor how long workers are in such positions, and evaluate the length of time it is safe to remain there.

Lockout/tagout
Proper lockout/tagout and hazardous energy control standards should be followed when workers are in confined spaces. Workers inside a machine such as a mixer or stirrer are vulnerable to inadvertent startups that could injure or kill them.

Reference: S& H