Entering into a confined space is supposed to be well-planned. It's not something that one can do on a whim. It's a place with little to no ventilation with limited entry and exit openings. Employees may even experience harmful gases that can intoxicate their lungs leading to severe health issues. Over the years, there have been 205 fatalities occurring in tanks, bins, or vat interiors. Over 203 workers have died in ditches, channels, and trenches in the construction industry. This emphasizes the need to fully understand the need to stay prepared and learn about the possible health hazards when entering a confined space. This guide helps you learn about the safety precautions and practices that can keep the lives of employees and workers safe.
Common Hazards in Confined Spaces
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has laid down legal regulations and policies for organizations to follow when assigning tasks that involve confined spaces. These can be manholes, utility vaults, sewers, pipelines, tanks, and silos. On a large scale, trenches, underground mines, ditches, and even the tanker trucks' interior are some of the most hazardous confined spaces. Here are the common hazards associated with confined spaces.
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Oxygen Deficiency:
Confined spaces often lack proper ventilation which leads to a significant drop in oxygen levels. It causes suffocations for workers. With low oxygen levels, workers feel dizziness and unconsciousness, and that even results in deaths. It is essential to get your workers equipped with needed tools, gears, and accessories. organizations must test if the oxygen level is safe for breathing.
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Toxic Gases and Fumes:
Confined spaces have harmful and toxic gases like carbon monoxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide. These toxic gases are harmful to the lungs and can cause prolonged illness or even casualties. Workers should always use gas detectors to identify such hazards before entering in any confined space.
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Engulfment of Entanglement:
Loose materials like grains, sand, and liquid can lead to crushing and suffocation. Moving machinery can cause entanglement and lead to more heinous situations. This drives the need for workers to stay prepared and have the proper knowledge before making any move.
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Fire and Explosion Risks:
Confined spaces have flammable gases and vapors too that can ignite by even the slightest of friction. The torchlight can cause an explosion due to the presence of such vapors. Having inadequate ventilation and small exit openings, workers may get stuck in a devastating situation, hence, organizations need to take proper safety measures to ensure their well-being.
Precautions Before Entering Into Confined Space
When entering into confined spaces, it's essential to learn about the proper procedures to follow. As much as it's essential for organizations to ensure safety precautions it's equally significant for workers to completely understand the hazards from confined spaces hazards courses. So, follow the measures below:
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Conducting a Risk Assessment:
Risk assessment involves assessing the space for potential hazards including identifying toxic gases, physical obstruction, and oxygen deficiency. It's important to determine the the likelihood and severity of each identified hazard to prioritize safety measures. After assessing the confined space, employers should implement control measures to mitigate the risks before entry.
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Obtain Permits:
Some confined spaces require legal permits to enter due to the hazardous situation. As part of issuing permits, organizations have to go through a specific screening procedure. It's important to get the permits and clear the screening process to ensure that your workers stay safeguarded. Follow all OSHA regulations and make sure that only the trained and authorized workers are allowed to enter such spaces.
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Ventilation:
You need to check the air quality, and ventilation and ensure proper monitoring during the entire session. Make sure that the space has proper ventilation, the entry and exit are ensured and the air quality can be optimized to ensure safe breathing and easy movement of workers. Moreover, there should be ways through which organizations can keep an eye on workers and monitor any hazardous happening.
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Test the Atmosphere:
You can use proper tools and technology to check gases and fumes in spaces. A multi-gas detector is used to measure oxygen levels and inflammable gases. Employers should conduct atmospheric testing at various levels (top, middle, and bottom) of the confined space for comprehensive results. In case of finding hazardous levels of fumes, workers should evacuate the space.
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Have Rescue Plans in Place:
Having strategically planned entry into a confined space also includes the need to have a well-trained rescue team. There should be a team on standby with rescue gear. Harness, tripods, and breathing apparatus are essentials among the many PPE gears.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Confined Spaces
PPE helps keep workers safe from hazards and lets them maneuver effectively. As part of the confined space entry procedure, employers must ensure that each worker is equipped with the following PPE gear.
- Respiratory Protection
- Fall Protection
- Protective Clothing and Gear
Workers should have wearables like hard hats, gloves, and protective suits to stay safe from physical harm. Secondly, there should be respirators to ensure adequate air supply to avoid inhaling toxic fumes in a confined space. Lastly, for vertical entries, workers should have harnesses and other fall-protecting gears.
The Presence of A Well-Trained and Certified Supervisor
No matter how big or small a confined space is there is a likelihood that such spaces have all the health hazards explained above. This calls for the need to have an experienced and well-trained supervisor who can monitor workers and assess the situation based on their experience. In times of emergencies, a witty and trained supervisor can handle the situation expertly and get all the workers out of the space without causing any trouble. Hence, organizations should make sure to assign the monitoring task to a certified supervisor.
Conclusion
When entering into a confined space it's essential to strategically plan it. Assess the space using detectors and take legal permits to make sure your organization has been vetted. Never enter without keeping your workers properly equipped with essential PPE. Encourage workers to prioritize safety and undergo proper training for confined space entry.
