Confined Spaces – Life Critical
On November 12, 2015, a foreman and four workers went to work on a newly constructed sewer line. After being on site for a while, one of the workers could not find the foreman. After looking around, the workers saw that a manhole cover was removed from a hole. Inside, the foreman laid on the ground, unconscious. One worker called for emergency services while another worker went down to check on the foreman. The would-be rescuer soon became disoriented. The workers above found a fan and introduced clean air into the manhole, which revived the rescuer enough so that he was able to climb out. The fire department was able to retrieve the foreman, who was pronounced dead at the scene. It is believed that the foreman was asphyxiated. A brief downloadable report on the incident can be found on the OSHA website at https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3819.pdf.
Before retrieving the foreman, the fire department took a reading of the atmosphere in the manhole. At that time, after having clean air forced into the space, the oxygen level was 19.1%. Normally, the oxygen level in the air you breathe is around 21%. Anything below 19.5% is considered hazardous. By definition, even after having clean air forced into the space, the space was a permit-required confined space due to the atmosphere in the space being hazardous.
Entry into permit-required confined spaces is often considered a life-critical operation. Just as it sounds, when something is “life-critical” it means that during that operation, your life could be in danger. That is why it is so important to understand what a confined space is, and what you need to do to stay safe. Here are just a few of the rules from the OSHA regulation (29 CFR Part 1910.146 (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.146)
Before anyone can enter the space, ask these questions:
1. Ask if the space has hazards. Are there atmospheric hazards? Is it hard to get in or out of? Is there an engulfment or entrapment hazard? Any other hazards?
2. Will an attendant be watching the entrants that can easily and quickly help the entrants to get out of the space?
3. Will there be ventilation or air monitoring?
4. If it is determined that this is a permit-required space, is there a permit?
5. How will rescuers be summoned? Note: If you are in California, the rescue team must be on site.
6. Have you been trained to enter a confined space?
More questions should be asked, but these will get you started. One critical point that must be made is that many confined space injuries and fatalities occur to would-be rescuers. Just like the worker who went into the manhole in the above story, they become focused on helping someone and do not take necessary precautions. If there is a need to retrieve someone who is unable to self-rescue and get out on their own, make sure you do not become the second victim.
Weekly Safety Challenge:
Have you entered a confined space? What safety steps did you take before and during the entry? Talk about confined spaces with your coworkers.
We can help you with the answer to question 6, above. We have an online training program for confined space operations. To learn more about the course, you can follow this link: https://www.hazmatschool.com/osha-confined-space-safety-training-1289/
