One of the top questions I get via SAFTENG and in my PRCS or Hazardous Atmospheres training courses is… Why did OSHA use 10% LEL to define a hazardous atmosphere? There is an official and logical reason, both of which should be understood. First, the “official” reason:
Source: VnExpress/Anh Phu Seven (7) workers were killed, and three (3) others were injured while conducting periodic maintenance on one of the plant’s kilns when the incident occurred. When the workers entered the rotary kiln to start the repair work, the kiln unexpectedly restarted. Replacing the eroded kiln plates is done every 5-7
Both OSHA PRCS standards define and quantify a Hazardous Atmosphere in terms of combustible dust using the distance one can see through the dust cloud… Hazardous atmosphere means an atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue (that is, escape unaided from a permit space), injury, or
This is a crazy case! The mill hired a contractor to build scaffolding inside one of its Chlorine Dioxide (CLO2) tanks. The mill prepped the tank and even performed the initial air sampling of the space. Turned it over to one of the scaffolding contractor employees who would be the attendant for the entry. Three
As he had many other days, the morning shift welder arrived at 5 a.m. to work on Aug. 28, 2023. Tasked with doing some fabrication work in a 4-foot by 8-foot space in a ship’s hull, the employee began work unaware that fatal suffocation would soon end his life. Less than two hours after entering
At 5:00 p.m. on September 20, 2023, an employee entered an oil well production tank to replace a leaking valve. The employee became unconscious when he entered the confined space. The employee died of asphyxiation in the hazardous atmosphere.
OSHA states the following about our non-entry rescue devices… The mechanical device used for emergency rescue must be designed and rated for human use. The standard specifies in paragraph 1910.146(k)(3)(ii) that the retrieval equipment must be designed for personnel. The performance-oriented nature of the standard allows flexibility as to the design specifications of the retrieval
An Oklahoma City employer’s failure to follow federal safety procedures left a 30-year-old worker suffering fatal asphyxiation as they tried to make repairs inside a water tank at a McClain County well site in September 2023. Responding to the report of a fatality in Purcell, OSHA investigators determined the worker had entered a permit-required confined
We hear it often… “Who would turn the machine on while I’m working on it?” It happens more often than most think. Employee # 1 and Coworker #1, Coworker #2, and Coworker #3 were cleaning two (2) concrete mixers. Employee #1 was paired with Coworker #1 to clean out a mixer. Employee #1 entered
Federal investigators determined a truck washing company failed to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide gas as they entered over-the-road tanker trailers to clean them out, causing one worker’s fatal injuries and hospitalizing two co-workers. OSHA responded to a report of the Sept. 1, 2023, incident and found the business failed to evaluate the tanker trailers for hazardous
