It is 24 years after OSHA promulgated it’s Permit-Required Confined Space standard and then in 2015 OSHA promulgated their Confined Spaces in Construction standard and yet we continue to see more “would-be rescuers” dying in Permit-Required Confined Spaces as do actual “entrants”. We can only hope that one-day worker training and awareness will end the “would-be rescuer” scenarios; however, that may require a change in humanity, for the worst. As Safety Professionals we MUST continue to raise awareness and improve training for wider audiences if we have any hope in stopping these kinds of tragedies…
At 11:00 a.m. on July 7, 2017, Employee #1was attempting to dislodge a 24-inch rubber plug from a 2-foot diameter sewer pipe located inside a 24-foot deep wet well. The workers were outside the well pulling on a 1/4-inch nylon rope that was attached to the 24-inch diameter plug. The plug was lodged inside a T-shaped PVC fitting from the force of the wastewater emptying into the well. Without conducting any atmospheric testing of the work space, Employee #1 climbed down the ladder with a crowbar to dislodge the deflated 24-inch diameter rubber plug, which was about 8 feet below the top of the well. He had difficulty releasing the plug with the crowbar and started to make his way up the ladder. He lost consciousness when he was about 2 feet from the top of the well and fell into the 24 foot deep well. Employee #2 descended down the ladder…
to provide emergency rescue, but lost consciousness and went underwater. The waste water level was about 3 feet deep at this point. Employee #3 climbed down the ladder to provide emergency rescue, but lost consciousness as well. All three workers were asphyxiated by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas.
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Violation Summary
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | Willful | Repeat | Total | |
| Initial Violations | 7 | 7 | ||
| Current Violations | 7 | 7 | ||
| Initial Penalty | $59,576 | $59,576 | ||
| Current Penalty | $59,576 | $59,576 | ||
| Violation Items | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Standard | Issuance | Abate | Curr$ | Init$ |
| Serious |
19261203 A – Before it begins work at a worksite, each employer must ensure that a competent person identifies all confined spaces in which one or more of the employees it directs may work, and identifies each space that is a permit space, through consideration and evaluation of the elements of that space, including testing as necessary. |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious |
19261204 B – Identify and evaluate the hazards of permit spaces before employees enter them; |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $0 | $0 |
| Serious |
19261203 E02 II – When entrance covers are removed, the opening must be immediately guarded by a railing, temporary cover, or other temporary barrier that will prevent an accidental fall through the opening and that will protect each employee working in the space from foreign objects entering the space. |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $6,338 | $6,338 |
| Serious |
19261203 E02 III – Before an employee enters the space, the internal atmosphere must be tested, with a calibrated direct-reading instrument, for oxygen content, for flammable gases and vapors, and for potential toxic air contaminants, in that order. Any employee who enters the space, or that employee’s authorized representative, must be provided an opportunity to observe the pre-entry testing required by this paragraph. |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious |
19261204 C04 – Purging, inerting, flushing, or ventilating the permit space as necessary to eliminate or control atmospheric hazards; |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious | 19261204 D08 –
Rescue and emergency equipment needed to comply with paragraph (i) of this section, except to the extent that the equipment is provided by rescue services; and |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious |
19261204 I – Develop and implement procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services (including procedures for summoning emergency assistance in the event of a failed nonentry rescue), for rescuing entrants from permit spaces, for providing necessary emergency services to rescued employees, and for preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue; |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $0 | $0 |
| Serious | 19261205 A –
Before entry is authorized, each entry employer must document the completion of measures required by § 1926.1204(c) by preparing an entry permit. |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious |
19261207 A – The employer must provide training to each employee whose work is regulated by this standard, at no cost to the employee, and ensure that the employee possesses the understanding, knowledge, and skills necessary for the safe performance of the duties assigned under this standard. This training must result in an understanding of the hazards in the permit space and the methods used to isolate, control or in other ways protect employees from these hazards, and for those employees not authorized to perform entry rescues, in the dangers of attempting such rescues |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $8,873 | $8,873 |
| Serious |
19261207 C – The training must establish employee proficiency in the duties required by this standard and must introduce new or revised procedures, as necessary, for compliance with this standard. |
12/18/2017 | 12/22/2017 | $0 | $0 |
