The image below is just one I found on the internet, but it is a good representation of the ones I have seen and worked with. Today, during an audit, I was asked by the EHS pro, if I thought there large CNC machines were Confined Spaces/Permit-Required Confined Spaces. At first, I said I did […]
Two explosions, two hours apart, sent two (2) workers of a storage tank sales and servicing company to the hospital, one with severe burns. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is fining the Des Moines, Wash. business $166,423 for ignoring rules that keep workers safe. A resort on the Kitsap Peninsula hired the
In 2021, I wrote an article regarding OSHA’s Permit-Required Confined Space standard and reclassifying PRCSs to a Non-PRCS status. This article centered on the keyword “potential” when discussing a hazardous atmosphere. The intent of that article (Defining and Quantifying “potential hazardous atmosphere”) was to clarify when/how a POTENTIAL was present to create a Hazardous Atmosphere.
The owner (58) of an auto wash facility and a worker (54) died of suspected asphyxiation after the duo rescued another worker, who had fainted inside the empty chemical cargo tank of a lorry while cleaning it. According to the police, the tanker lorry driver (48) took the vehicle to the wash facility for cleaning.
This video was produced as a companion product to IL OSHA’s report on the Deming Incident where a 20-year-old maintenance worker drowned in an underground vault during an attempt to repair a water main valve. IL OSHA encourages all municipal water departments that enter confined spaces to supplement their employer-specific training curriculum with this video
In February 2023, a 20-year-old maintenance worker drowned in a water main vault that flooded during the attempted repair of a leaking valve. IL OSHA determined multiple contributing factors led to the drowning, including: ➡️ Lack of compliance with several confined space standards. ➡️ Lack of oversight and auditing by management. ➡️ Lack of rescue
A permit-required confined space (PRCS) may be reclassified as a non-permit space under the following conditions as outlined in 1926.1203(g): There is no actual or potential atmospheric hazard within the space.This means that there are no atmospheric hazards in the space, and none will develop during the entry period. Use of forced air ventilation to
Does the Standard impose additional requirements on “permit-required confined spaces” beyond those imposed for “confined spaces”? Yes.
This information should open some eyes as to OSHA’s expectations for how our PRCS Entry Programs are managed and by WHO! Take time to “read between the lines” in this information. Could your facility, and more specifically could your facility personnel, pass this level of inspection?
I came across this on the DOL website and found it refreshing, as it seems the debate still rages on about several key terms in OSHA’s PRCS standards. Here are a few that may be helpful:
At 10:20 a.m. on August 1, 2024, an employee, 53, was working inside a transformer. The employee entered a permitted confined space filled with nitrogen and asphyxiated due to overexposure to nitrogen. The employee was killed.
On May 29, 2024, at 3:22 p.m., Employee #1, 26, was attempting to rescue a fellow employee who had been overcome by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas in an underground pump house. Prior to this incident, multiple coworkers had been working in the pump house and were exposed to H2S gas emitted from a pipe containing
