As promised, this is my follow-up to my previous posts regarding Ammonia Refrigeration Evaporative Condensers and the fact that they are Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS). In this article, I will explain the options we have to enter these spaces and what all goes into each entry option.
Before we get into each entry option, it would be helpful to explain that two (2) of the options, .1910.146 (c)(5) and (c)(7), have grown in popularity in recent years – primarily from OSHA issuing large citations to employers for failure to manage the rescue requirements for their permit-entries. These two (2) entry options, when applied PROPERLY and EXECUTED FLAWLESSLY, eliminate the requirement for any type of rescue needs (both non-entry and entry-style rescue) and if there is one major failure across the board it is the rescue requirements found in 1910.146(k). We will discuss these rescue requirements in our final article, but in my 30 years, I can count the number of facilities fully meeting the rescue requirements on my two hands! So let’s discuss the three (3) options:
