CONFINED SPACE SAFETY 1

Confined Space Safety What entrants need to know: testing and monitoring, protection, and rescue

››A confined space is defined as a space that is large enough for a worker to enter, is not designed for

continuous worker occupancy, and has limited open-ings for entry and exit. Types of confined spaces include storage tanks, process vessels, boilers, sewers, tunnels, underground utility vaults, pipelines, storm drains and ship void spaces. Some confined spaces can be open-topped, including pits, degreasers, water tanks, ship holds and trenches.

Prior to introducing its standards on confined spaces, OSHA reviewed industry incidents and statistics to deter-mine what was needed to develop standards. What the agency found when studying confined space fatalities was that:• 89%offatalitiesoccurredwithjobsauthorizedby

supervisors.• 80%offatalitieshappenedinlocationsthathadbeen

previously entered by the same person who later died.• In40%offatalatmosphericaccidents,thehazardwas

not present at the time of initial entry.• 35%ofthosewhodiedweresupervisors.•Only7%oflocationshadwarningsignsindicatingthat

they were confined spaces.Sixty-five percent of confined space fatalities are

duetoatmospherichazards.Theremaining35%aredue to factors such as electrical shock or electrocution, being caught in or crushed by machinery, engulfment,

falls inside the confined space, and ingress or egress accidents.

Confined space entry poses a number of safety chal-lenges for employers and workers. One is the fact that most confined spaces are unique, having distinct charac-teristicsandpotentialhazards.Assuch,employersmustconduct a thorough assessment of each confined space in order to ensure worker safety.

“Some people aren’t even aware that they need to be testing before they enter confined spaces,” notes Shaun Endsley, industrial/military regional manager for Scott Safety. “As a result, one of the things we like to do is increase awareness among customers by educat-ing them on confined-space rules and regulations. We wantthemtounderstandwhatthehazardsandproperprocedures are.”Hazardscanvarybyindustry,accordingtoEndsley.

“For example, petrochemical companies have to deal withmanytank-cleaningjobs,whichinvolvetoxicchemi-cals. On the other hand, municipal wastewater facilities are must deal with problems associated with H2S (hydro-gen sulfide).”

Testing & Monitoring: Gas DetectionAccording to Mel Gerst, product line manager, portable gas detection, for Scott Safety, it is important to test the entry to a confined space before you enter it. “You want

• Identifyconfinedspaces,• Identifypotentialhazards,• Informemployeesbypostingsignswherefeasible,• Prevententrybyunauthorizedpersons,• Establishproceduresandpracticestoallowsafeentry

(permit system), • Trainemployees,providerequiredequipment,•Controlhazardswherepossiblethroughengineeringor

work practices, •Ensureproceduresandequipmentnecessaryforrescue,• Protectentrantsfromexternalhazardsandenforce

established procedures.

GENERAL OSHA REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS RELATED TO CONFINED SPACES INCLUDE:

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to test for oxygen depletion, explosive gasses and toxic gasses, in that order,” he states.Inmanycases,entrantsdonotknowtheyneedto

monitor the environment of the confined space they are entering. Also, they may not have the proper equipment on hand or in proper working order to properly monitor. Gas monitors must be designed to be easily carried with the entrant, either in their hand or with a robust clip that canattachtoaworkbeltorclothing.Ifcalibratingthegas monitor is complicated, it rarely will be completed, which contributes to improperly functioning equipment.

Best practices in using gas detection equipment include“zeroing”yourmonitoreverydaybeforeuse,“bump testing” it before use and making sure it remains calibrated. (Scott Safety recommends calibrating every 30days.)

Scott Safety’s Protege Multi-Gas Monitor is well-suited for confined spaces. Featuring a small, compact design, it fits ergonomically in your hand, so you can operate it with one hand while holding a sampling probe in the other.Itallowsyoutoholdthemonitorinonehandwhilerecording readings on the confined space permit. For hands free operation the Protégé has a robust “alliga-tor” clip so the unit can be attached to a belt or work clothing for use as a personal monitor.

Ruggedanddurable,theProtegemonitorhasanIP(IngressProtection)ratingof67fordustandwateringress.

“You can take a lot of sample readings with the on-board memory,” states Gerst. The product can store up to7,000eventsorreadings,whichprovidesthoroughdata collection for compliance recordkeeping.

Scott Safety offers a compact pump accessory, the Protege Masterdock, which can be added to the moni-tor.Itrunsoffthemonitor’sinternalbattery,soyoudon’thave to carry extra batteries for the pump. “This gives you the opportunity to use the monitor in either the sample mode or diffusion mode,” continues Gerst.

“As a result, as you enter the confined space, you can use the monitor with the pump in a sampling mode, to make sure the confined space is safe for entry. You can then quickly switch to the diffusion mode afterwards, if you choose to.”

The Protege monitor batteries have a relatively long life—offering15hoursofrun-timewithoutthepumpand12 hours with the pump.

Protection: RespiratorsAccording to Kelli Woodward, Air-Supplied Product Line Manager, for Scott Safety, two respiratory pro-tection products are appropriate for confined space atmospheres:•OneistheSCBA(Self-ContainedBreathingApparatus),

in which the primary supply of breathing air is worn on one’sback.Ittypicallyhasa30-,45-or60-minuteduration. (Scott Safety’s Air-Pak SCBA can be config-uredto75minutes.)

• Theotherisasupplied-airrespirator:anair-lineres-pirator that is operated from an auxiliary source such as compressor or mobile air unit (e,g, an air cart). The supplied-air respirator also has an emergency egress cylinder, which is worn on the body, usually on the hip. Cylindersareavailableinfive-,10-or15-minuterateddurations.Which is the more appropriate solution?Itdependsonthreefactors,accordingtoWoodward.

Oneisthesizeandareaoftheconfinedspace.“Thesupplied-air respirator can provide extra mobility in a

A personal multi-gas monitor is designed to monitor

potentially hazardous levels of combustible gases, oxygen

enrichment or depletion, carbon monoxide, and

hydrogen sulfide.

Use the multi-gas monitor

with the pump accessory in a

sampling mode, to make sure the confined space is safe

for entry.

It is important to test the entry to a confined space

before entering. “You want to test for oxygen depletion,

explosive gasses and toxic gasses, in that order.”

MEL GERST, PRODUCT LINE MANAGER,

PORTABLE GAS DETECTION, SCOTT SAFETY

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small or tight space,” she explains. A second is dura-tion.WithanSCBAunit,youarelimitedto60or75minutes maximum. However, the supplied-air respirator isappropriateforlonger-termjobs,becauseitsauxiliaryair supply is almost unlimited. Regulations are a third factor. “There are some rules and regulations that go along with permit-required confined spaces and non-permit-required confined spaces, and the nature of your confined space respiratory protection program, that will determine the kind of respirator you need,” she adds.

One supplied-air respirator available from Scott Safety is the Ska-Pak AT, which is the safest on the market. “AT” stands for “automatic transfer.” “Typically, you have your respirator on, which is connected to your primary air source via an airline hose,” explains Woodward, “and youhaveyouregresscylinderatyourhip.Ifyourprimaryair source is severed or otherwise compromised, when you take the next breath, the mask will be sucked to your face, the worker will need to manually open the hand-wheel of the egress cylinder, which can then be used to leave the confined space.”

WiththeSka-PakAT,youbeginthejobwiththeegresscylinder open, so if you lose your primary air source, you are automatically transferred to the cylinder air. You are notified of this transfer by a mask-mounted regulator, the Vibralert tactile alarm system, which gently vibrates your facepiece, letting you know that you have switched over to your egress cylin-der air. This signals that it is time to exit the confined space.

“This e l iminates the panic that will probably occur with a respirator that doesn’t have an auto-matic transfer system,” notes Woodward. “When the facepiece collapses on your last breath, the natu-ral reaction is to remove the facepiece and gasp for air.” This, of course, can lead to serious problems, includingdeath.“Inaddi-tion, in a very small space, you may not have room to maneuver in order to easily turn the handwheel of the egress cylinder,” she adds.

Confined Space Rescue“When we educate customers, we spend a lot of time on the importance of having an emergency response plan in place,” states Endsley. “Often, when you look at the death tolls in confined space accidents, would-be rescuersarefrequentlyamongthosewhodie.”Infact,according to OSHA statistics, two out of three workers killed in confined space accidents are would-be rescuers.

“We do a lot of hands-on training with our custom-ers, and we put them through exercises of real confined space accidents that actually happened in the past,” continuesEndsley.Inmanycases,the“rescuers”whogoin to pull someone out under these simulated conditions end up needing to be “rescued” themselves.

During awareness training, Endsley finds that about 95%ofcustomersspecifythelocalfiredepartmentasthe rescue team on their confined space entry permit. This poses several potential problems:•Dependingonyourworklocation,itcantakeafiredepartmentsixto10minutestoarrive,accordingtoEndsley.“Ifyouhaveapersoninaconfinedspacewithlack of oxygen, that person can begin to suffer brain damage within six minutes,” he notes.

• Yourlocalfiredepartmentmaynotbefamiliarwithyour unique confined space situation. As a result, Endsley recommends that, if you do designate the

A SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) such as the ACSi model, typically has 30-, 45 or 60-minute duration.

CONFINED SPACE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ARE COVERED BY A NUMBER OF OSHA STANDARDS:•OSHA1910.146:“Permit-RequiredConfined

Spaces.”•OSHA1915.7,11-16:“Confined&Enclosed

Spaces and Other Dangerous Atmospheres in Shipyard Employment.”

•OSHA1926:“ConfinedSpacesinConstruction.”

FRESH AIR IS COMPOSED OF 78.1% NITROGEN, 20.9% OXYGEN, 0.9% ARGON AND 0.1% OF OTHER GASES. LACK OF OXYGEN CAUSES A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS:• 19.5%-12%oxygen:impairedjudgment,

increased pulse and respiration, fatigue and loss of coordination.

• 12%-10%oxygen:disturbedrespiration,poorcirculation, worsening fatigue and loss of critical faculties (symptoms occur within seconds to minutes).

• 10%-6%oxygen:nausea,vomiting,inabilitytomove, loss of consciousness and death.

• 6%-0%oxygen:convulsions,gasping,cessationof breathing, cardiac arrest (symptoms immediate, death within minutes).

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According to OSHA statistics, two out

of three workers killed in confined

space accidents are would-be rescuers.

Supplied air respirators, like the Ska Pak SAR, have an alarm system that vibrates gently to signal that it is time to exit the confined space.

local fire department as your rescue team, that they visityoursiteannually,identifyallpotentialhazards,and make sure all proper PPE (personal protective equipment) is available to perform rescues.

•Notallfiredepartmentsconductcomprehensivetraining.“Backinthe1980s,therewasasituationwhere an employee needed to enter a tank to clean it,” recalls Endsley. The tank had been filled with toluene, which is very combustible. The opening on the top was too small for the employee to enter while wearing a SCBA unit, so he was told to go down and hold his breath until the SCBA unit was lowered to him. However, he passed out before he was able to put on the SCBA.

• Thefiredepartmentarrivedandrealizedtherewasnooxygeninthe tank, but they couldn’t enter it themselves wearing SCBA units. So, they cut a hole alongside the tank. “When they did, it introduced more oxygen into the environment,” notes Endsley. The lethal combina-tion of toluene and oxygen, plus the use of a cutting tool, caused an explosion.Allpotentialhazardsneedto

be assessed prior to primary entry or rescue scenarios. All confined spaces should be approached as unique. Even if the space itself is identical, potentialhazardsmaynotbe.Approaching a confined space res-cue methodically will help ensure a safe rescue.

A Satisfied CustomerOne of Scott Safety’s satisfied agricultural customers is Primeland Cooperatives, headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho.“Theyhavebeenveryproactiveintraining

their people and have several of our gas monitors,” says Endsley.

Primeland has a variety of confined spaces, according to Marc Watson, the company’s safety/service manager. These include grain bins, grain elevator boot pits and scale confined spaces (spaces located under weighing scale decks). The company needs to monitor for four atmospherichazards:H2S(hydrogensulfide),LEL(lowerexplosive limit of common combustible gases), CO (car-bon monoxide) and oxygen.

“We got our first monitor from Scott Safety over a year ago,” notes Watson. “We are buying Protege monitors for the four gases that we monitor for prior to entry into a confined

space.” Primeland also has purchased accessories, including bump and cal-ibration items, as well as pumps and probes—all in a kit form. Recently, Primeland purchased a Protege Masterdock. “The guys can use it to bump-test the meters every day,” explainsWatson.“Itlogstheinfor-mation into the system, which allows me to pull the information to my lap-top,soIcanmonitorthereadingson every single monitor we have. This allows us to provide compli-ance information to OSHA for calibration and bump-testing.” As Watson sees it, this ensures that Primeland is more proac-tive in its documentation.“Scott Safety has been excel-

lent in terms of providing us with all the information we need,” contin-

ues Watson. “They respond quickly to any problems that might occur. They also are excellent in their train-ing.Inaddition,Shaun[Endsley]hashelpeduswithprocedural questions, engineering questions and war-ranty issues.” l

Protege Confined Space Kit

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