Alaska’s Occupational Safety and Health Review commission hands downs a PRCS decision regarding a “Fish Bin Chiller Alley” at a seafood processing plant. A CSHO stated this corridor, meeting the criteria below, was not only a CS, but it was a PRCS:
- corridor approximately 60 feet long and 5 feet wide
- within the corridor there are five (5) chiller units and a network of pipes that provides chilled water to the plant’s ammonia refrigeration system
- chiller units are located on one side of the corridor and the connected piping is routed overhead as well as on the opposite side of the corridor about 18 inches off the floor
- there is a suspended metal catwalk above the chillers and pipes about 8 feet 6 inches from the floor
- catwalk is accessible by ladders at either end of the corridor
- the ends of the corridor are open and not enclosed
- there are building exits at each end of the corridor: a standard door at one end and a 12-foot by 12-foot overhead garage door at the other end
- there are two large fixed fans at one end of the corridor as well as several overhead fans in the plant to provide ventilation
- there is lighting approximately every 10 feet through the corridor
What do you think the AK-OSHRC decided? Was the CSHO correct or was this space one which did not meet ALL three (3) criteria for a space to be a Confined Space?