Permit Required Confined Spaces

Two workers were killed while cleaning rail cars and were exposed to a dangerous amount of hydrogen sulfide gas.  The primary cause of death of both employees was closed space asphyxiation and hydrogen sulfide intoxication, a byproduct of the residual organic waste contained in the tank. OSHA determined that neither victim was equipped with an…...

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), also known as WA-OSHA, has cited a landscaping business for multiple safety violations related to the death of a worker, 19, last July. He was killed by a rotating auger while working inside the hopper of a bark-blower truck.  The company has been cited for two willful and…...

This Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance is for those who work or control work in confined spaces.  It explains the definition of a confined space in the Regulations and gives examples. It will help you assess the risk of working within a particular confined space and put precautions in place for work to…...

Violations of permit confined spaces safety regulations led to the death of a worker, 23, on June 19, 2014, at a producer and distributor of food products. The worker was found unresponsive in a tanker truck at the facility. He was conducting sampling of the tank, which contained egg products and nitrogen. OSHA has cited…...

OSHA found that an environmental remediation company did not have the equipment or trained personnel to rescue a 27-year-old worker promptly who collapsed and later died while cleaning a rail car. OSHA has cited seven willful and 14 serious safety violations, many involving permit-required confined space safety regulations. The company has also been placed in…...

On July 25, 2012, OSHA issued to Respondent a three item serious citation and a one item willful citation and notification of penalty (citation). The serious citation items allege that, on or about February 6, 2012: Respondent did not maintain a standard railing adjacent to batch plant sand bins that are permit-required confined spaces, in…...

We try to stress in our PRCS Entry and Rescue courses that it is almost always easier to get into a small opening than it is to exit that same opening.  Many variables at play during an entry make this a fact, and this video does an excellent job showing how egress can be a…...

A 51-year-old worker was fatally injured when he became engulfed in flowing grain in a railcar load-out elevator. On March 15, 2014, the incident occurred when the worker attempted to remove a jam from a chute while the auger operated. OSHA has cited the company for one willful, two repeat and eight serious safety violations,…...

In 2012, Oregon OSHA adopted OAR 437-002-0146. That rule was initiated to address confined space hazards for the construction industry, as the previous rule, OAR 437-002-1910.146, did not apply to the construction industry. The goal in this process was to draft a rule that was significantly less confusing than the current rule, address shortcomings with the…...

On September 6, 2010, a 51-year-old male volunteer fire fighter (victim) died after being overcome by low oxygen and sewer gases while climbing down into a sewer manhole in an attempt to rescue a village utility worker. The utility worker had entered the manhole to investigate a reported sewer problem and was overcome by low…...