E-Books: Permit-Required Confined Spaces HSSE WORLD

Permit-Required Confined Spaces is an informational booklet provides a general overview of a particular topic related to OSHA standards. It does not alter or determine compliance responsibilities in OSHA standards or the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Because interpretations and enforcement policy may change over time, you should consult the current OSHA administrative
interpretations and decisions by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and the courts for additional guidance on OSHA compliance requirements.

Table of Contents

Many workplaces contain spaces that are considered to be
“confined” because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter into, work in, or exit from them. In many instances, employees who work in confined spaces also face an increased risk of exposure to serious physical injury from hazards such as entrapment, engulfment, and hazardous atmospheric conditions. Confinement itself may pose entrapment hazards and
working in confined spaces may keep employees closer to hazards such as machinery components than they would be otherwise. For example, confinement, limited access, and restricted airflow can result in hazardous conditions that would not normally arise in an open workplace.

Also Read: Photo of the day: Safety Equipment for Confined Spaces

The terms “permit-required confined space” and “permit space” refer to spaces that meet OSHA’s definition of a “confined space” and contain health or safety hazards.

For this reason, OSHA requires workers to have a permit to enter these spaces. Throughout this publication, the term “permit space” will be used to describe a “permit-required confined space.”

Also Read: Working safely around confined spaces

Definitions
By definition, a confined space:

Is large enough for an employee to enter fully and perform assigned work;
Is not designed for continuous occupancy by the employee; and
Has a limited or restricted means of entry or exit.

These spaces may include underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, pits, diked areas, vessels, silos, and other similar areas.

By definition, a permit-required confined space has one or more of these characteristics:

Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere;
Contains a material with the potential to engulf someone who enters the space; Has an internal configuration that might cause an entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; and/or
Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazards.