Permit Required Confined Spaces

I have this debate several times a year and always go to the “note” in 1910.146 related to the definition of “atmospheric hazards”.  And that is never enough to convince people that 1910.146 deals ONLY with ACUTE responses to atmospheric hazards – NOT chronic responses.  Now let’s be clear that chronic hazard MUST be addressed/managed,…...

It is a common question… why does OSHA define entry as… Entry means the action by which a person passes through an opening into a permit-required confined space. Entry includes ensuing work activities in that space and is considered to have occurred as soon as any part of the entrant’s body breaks the plane of…...

On February 19, 2015, employees were to perform a preventive maintenance inspection inside of a scrubber, which is maintained free of oxygen using a nitrogen blanket. When the designated attendant could not find the entrant employee, other employees searched for him. The entrant employee was found inside the scrubber (a metal tube) where he had…...

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s (DLI’s) Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Compliance has issued a $621,600 penalty to a trucking company primarily for lack of confined-space safety requirements at its facility in Virginia, Minnesota, following a worker fatality in a tanker in March 2024. In July 2024, MNOSHA Compliance issued 10 serious citations for violations…...

On February 23, 2023, at 11:45 a.m., an employee working for a city water department was repairing a leaking 12-inch PVC waterline main valve. The valve was located in a utility vault approximately 5 feet deep. The employee turned off the water to the west of the valve by opening multiple fire hydrants. He and…...

This ONLY applies to Michigan workplaces, but it was such a weird way to enforce the PRCS standard that I thought it was worth sharing. Keep in mind that more than 50% of PRCS deaths are “would-be rescuers.” Rescue Operations MIOSHA has no authority to direct rescue operations.  This is the responsibility of the employer…...

OSHA’s Construction Standard for PRCSs specifies several information collection requirements. The following sections describe who uses the information collected under each requirement and how they use it. Employers and employees would use these information collection requirements to identify a confined space at a construction worksite. The purpose of the information would permit employers and employees…...

A tank cleaning company again chose to disregard federal safety standards that may have protected their employees from hazardous working conditions and prevented another employee from suffering a fatal injury. In December 2023, just two days before Christmas, the wife and son of an employee at the company grew concerned when he didn’t return after…...

On December 4, 2023, at 11:37 a.m., an employee was working as a contractor performing repairs at a bulk petroleum storage facility. The employee was attempting to perform repair work inside a tank that had previously contained oil. The employee was using methylene chloride to degrease the floor inside the tank…. Membership Required You must...

On December 23, 2023, at 12:07 p.m., an employee working as an equipment washer for a contract tank service was cleaning a bulk liquid waste tank that had contained acetic acid. The employee was found unresponsive inside the tanker. The employee was transported to the emergency room and was pronounced dead eleven minutes after arrival…....

On May 2, 2023, an employee working for a gas station and convenience store arrived to talk to a coworker (the employer) about payment for the building he leases. The employee asked the coworker if he could help him apply a fuel tank liner. The employee climbed inside the tank and plugged in his own…...

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:… Membership Required You must be a member to...