Confined Spaces—Deadly Spaces

1. Confined Spaces—Deadly Spaces DOES YOUR SITE NEED A CONFINED SPACE PROGRAM?

2. Failing to recognize the danger is a common mistake!

3. 5 killed in methane gas accident on Virginia dairy farm • July 4, 2007 • BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Deadly methane gas emanating from a dairy farm's manure pit killed five people: a Mennonite farmer who climbed into the pit to unclog a pipe, and then in a frantic rescue attempt that failed, his wife, two young daughters, and a farmhand who tried to help.

4. October 3rd, 2007 • GEORGETOWN, Colo. (Associated Press) --  When fire broke out deep underground at a hydroelectric plant in the Rockies, officials at the surface dropped a radio down to five trapped men in a tunnel and were relieved to learn they were OK. • But by the time emergency crews reached them six hours later, they were dead.

5. Employee crushed to death in trash compactor • July 27, 2010 • John Adams, a maintenance man at an office building in Niagara Falls, NY, had been missing since July 4. The last time someone saw him, he was working at his maintenance job. • Owners of the One Niagara building had offered a $1,500 reward for information on Adams. • Finally, it was the building’s own video surveillance that showed what happened to Adams. • The video showed Adams entering an active trash compactor to retrieve a fallen garbage bin and apparently being crushed by the device. The device was a large, self-contained Dumpster that has a mechanical compacting mechanism that prevented him from being able to escape and made it impossible for co-workers to realize what occurred. • Source: Safety News Alert

6. According to OSHA: • More than 13,000 workers are injured annually in Confined Space incidents. Roughly 5,000 of those workers are injured seriously--- • But the hardest fact to accept about confined spaces:

7. “Would-Be” Rescuers Account for Over 60% of Confined Space Fatalities!

8. “Would-Be” Rescuers: • 6 people drown in giant vat of ketchup • July 13, 2010 by Fred Hosier Six workers drowned after falling into a giant vat of ketchup at a plant in Lucknow, India. • The chain of events started when one worker fell into the 20-foot deep tank. • Police say, as five co-workers dived in to save her, they were all overcome by fumes given off from fermenting vegetables and drowned. • Two more workers were hospitalized. • Investigators say the woman was scooping fermented vegetables from the vat when she slipped off her ladder and plunged into the tank. • The factory owner was taken into custody.

9. Identifying a Confined Space What is a confined space? A confined space is: • large enough to “bodily enter”, and has limited or restricted means of entrance or exit, and is not designed for human occupancy. It must have all three characteristics to be a confined space.

10. Clarifying definitions • “Can Bodily Enter” • October 20, 1999 • Michael JohnsonOxy Vinyls, LPLouisville PlantBells Lane, P.O. Box 34370Louisville, KY 40232-4370 • Dear Mr. Johnson: • Thank you for your September 28, 1999 letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance (GICA). You have a question regarding the Permit-Required Confined Spaces standard, 29 CFR 1910.146. Your question is restated below for clarity. • Question. In terms of permit-required confined space entry, does "body" include all extremities (hands, feet, arms and legs) or does it indicate just the head and torso? • Reply. The term "body" refers to any part of the anatomy including all extremities. • Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. We hope you find this information helpful. Please be aware that OSHA's enforcement guidance is subject to periodic review and clarification, amplification, or correction. Such guidance could also be affected by subsequent rulemaking. In the future, should you wish to verify that the guidance provided herein remains current, you may consult OSHA's website at http://www.osha.gov. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance at (202) 693-1850. • Sincerely, • Richard E. Fairfax, DirectorDirectorate of Compliance Programs

11. Clarifying definitions • “Limited or restricted means of entry or exit” • Do you have to use your hands to enter or exit? • Is an awkward posture necessary for entry or exit? • Is entry or exit impeded by pipes, ducts, walls, holes, distance, etc?

12. Is this a Confined Space?

13. Clarifying definitions “Limited or restricted means of entry or exit” The ability to easily escape in an emergency is impeded by such obstacles as: a manhole a small door or opening a ladder a long tunnel In most cases, a trench is not considered a confined space. Restricted exit Exit not restricted

14. Clarifying definitions (cont) • “Limited or restricted means of entry or exit” • Federal Register, Nov. 4, 1994 (p.55208) • “For example, even if the door or portal of a space is of sufficient size, obstructions could make entry into or exit from the space difficult. The Agency intended that spaces which otherwise meet the definition of confined spaces, and which have obstructed entry or exits even though the portal is a standard size doorway, be classified as confined spaces.”

15. Clarifying definitions (cont) • “and is not designed for human occupancy”: • Does the space have permanent lighting? • Does the space have either natural or forced ventilation? • Is the space primarily used for processing, storing, conveying, or transfer of materials?

16. Evaluate your facility • Look closely at: • Pits • Tanks • Manholes • Bag houses • Curing ovens • Support equipment

17. You found one. Now what? • Evaluate and document the hazards inherent to the space: • Atmosphere • Engulfment • Ability to trap a worker • Electrical equipment • Moving parts • Extraneous factors

18. You found one (Cont.) • Document the hazards related to the space • Document what is needed to safely access and work in the space • Document what is needed to keep others away from the hazard while the entry takes place

19. Is it a Permit Required Confined Space? • Use the Permit-Required Confined Space Decision Flow Chart to help you decide • OSHA’s Confined Space Advisor, or the ePRCS can also be used

21. Is it a Permit Required Confined Space? • Confined Spaces can quickly become Permit-Required if conditions change • Here we go again----more definitions!

22. Is it a Permit Required Confined Space? • Contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere • Nitrogen or other inert gas • Methane or CO2 • Flammable or explosive vapors • Oxygen content below 19.5% or above 23.5% • Toxic gases or vapors

23. Permit-Required spaces (cont) • Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant • Liquid or semi-liquid compounds • Sand • Grain • Fly Ash or Portland Cement

24. Permit-Required spaces (cont) • Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or

25. Permit-Required spaces (cont) • Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard • Moving parts or moving material • Electrical hazards • Exposure to falls While “Confined Space” requires all three conditions, a Permit-Required Confined Space needs only ONE of these four tests

26. What’s next? • Decide who will be allowed to enter the space • Employees will enter: • Install warning signs • Draft procedures • Get proper equipment • Train employees (Attendant, Entrant, and Entry Supervisor) • Drill and evaluate

27. Don’t forget to consider what can change the status of the space • EXAMPLE: While working in a confined space, a worker detects a small fire. He’s not concerned, because he grabbed the closest extinguisher, and brought it in with him. However, he failed to note that it is a “Clean Agent” extinguisher. • Upon discharge, the space becomes Permit-Required because of toxic decomposition products

28. Rescue and Emergency Services • For permit-required entries, rescue and emergency services must be “readily available”. • 3-5 minute response time • Must be trained in rescue • Familiar with your spaces • Simulate or perform a rescue annually

29. Contractors: • Even if your employees do not enter, you must brief contractors before they enter the space • Contractors must brief the owner of the space upon conclusion of work • Make sure your contractors understand the dangers of confined spaces

30. Sioux City Journal: • OSHA investigates N. Sioux sewer death • Posted: Friday, July 16, 2010 12:00 am • NORTH SIOUX CITY -- The Occupational Safety & Health Administration is investigating the death of a Sioux City man who was overcome by fumes along with another worker in a North Sioux City sewer Saturday. • Kory Menken, North Sioux City executive director of economic development, confirmed 54-year-old Robert Thompson's death Thursday. Thompson and another Speedy Rooter employee became unconscious at about 11 a.m. Saturday while attempting to fix a clogged sewer in a one-block stretch of Military Road between North Main Street and Watier Avenue. • Tom Deutscher, an OSHA compliance assistance specialist based in Bismarck, N.D., said incidents of workers being overtaken by sewer fumes happen more often than they should. • "Inside the sewer business there's inherent hazards that they've known of for years, so they should be prepared to deal with them.”

31. Knowledge is power • Even if it doesn’t fit the definition, some of the same hazards can exist • This next example was two days, and less than 20 miles away from the previous incident

32. Omaha World-Herald: • Published Tuesday July 27, 2010Bad toilet mix sends 3 to hospital • SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities believe chemicals used to unclog a toilet at a Sioux City home created a dangerous mixture that sent three people to the hospital. • Officials were called to the house Monday morning. Firefighters believe chemicals used to unclog a toilet in the basement may have mixed with something caught in the drain, creating hydrogen sulfate gas. • Assistant Fire Chief Jim Clark says firefighters ventilated the house and used water to dilute the chemicals. • Officials say an elderly couple and their granddaughter were taken to a hospital, and all three were conscious. • Their names were not immediately released.

33. Remember that many Standards mesh with another Standard • 1910.146 also links to: • 1910.147: Lockout-Tagout • 1910.151: Medical Services & First Aid • Subpart I: PPE • Subpart Q: Welding, Cutting, and Brazing • 1910.300-399: Electrical • 1910.1200: Hazard Communication

34. Good Preparation = Safe Working • Confined Space incidents can be prevented • Evaluate spaces • Evaluate hazards • Evaluate rescue and emergency services • DOCUMENT! • Remember to re-evaluate and update • Follow your procedures

35. What kills workers in confined spaces? • Suffocation from lack of oxygen • Exposure to toxic chemicals • Fire or explosion • Crushed by cave-ins • Engulfed by liquids or flowable material • Falls • Struck by objects or equipment

36. Additional Resources: • OSHA’s Permit-Required Confined Space Standard: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9797 • OSHA’s Confined Spaces Advisor: http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/csa.html • OSHA’s ePRCS tool: http://www.osha.gov/dep/etools/eprcs/index.html • OSHA Publication 3138: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3138.pdf

37. QUESTIONS?