Confined Space ASSE / San Jose – July 8, 2008 Paul R. Burnett Safety Program Administrator Santa Clara Valley Water District * x3084 1

Definitions A “Confined Space” Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. (Cal/OSHA – 8 CCR 5157) 2

Definitions A “Confined Space” is a space where: Existing ventilation is insufficient to remove dangerous air contamination, oxygen enrichment and/or oxygen deficiency which may exist or develop. (and) Ready access or egress for the removal of a suddenly disabled employee is difficult due to the location and/or size of the opening(s). (Cal/OSHA – 8 CCR 5158) 3

Definitions 8 CCR 5156: 5157 versus 5158 Construction operations… Agriculture operations… Marine terminal operations… Telecommunication manholes and unvented vaults… Grain handling facilities… Natural gas utility operation… Electric utility operations within underground vaults… 4

Definitions Construction versus Not-Construction: “Generally speaking, refurbishing of existing equipment and space is maintenance; reconfiguration of space or installation of substantially new equipment (as for a process change) is usually construction.” - confinedspaces.html confinedspaces.html 5

Definitions “not designed for continuous employee occupancy” “…spaces were created to contain such things as degreasers, sawdust, and sewage, not to accommodate people.” (OSHA) “…its primary function is something other than human occupancy.” (ANSI) 6

Definitions “…limited or restricted means for entry or exit…” “Restricted entry and exit is a physical configuration, which requires the use of the hands or contortion of the body…” (ANSI) Ladders, and…stairs will usually be considered a limited or restricted means of egress…when the conditions or physical characteristics of the space, in light of the hazards present in it, would interfere with the entrant's ability to exit or be rescued in a hazardous situation. (OSHA) 7

Definitions “…limited or restricted means for entry or exit…” “…a space…that has a door leading into it, but also has pipes, conduits, ducts, or equipment or materials that an employee would be required to crawl over or under or squeeze around in order to escape, has limited or restricted means of exit.” - confinedspaces.htmlhttp:// confinedspaces.html 8

Definitions Can the distance an employee must travel in a space such as a tunnel, to reach a point of safety be a determinant for classifying a space as a confined space? Yes. The determination would most likely be a function of the time of travel to the point of safety. - confinedspaces.htmlhttp:// confinedspaces.html 9

Permit-Required Confined Space Contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; or Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant; or Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard. 10

Definitions “…has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere…” “Where employees are exposed to atmospheric… hazards which do not present an immediate danger of death or disability that would render the employee unable to escape from the confined space… OSHA's health standards…apply… and employees must be appropriately protected... The PRCS standard is intended to protect entrants against short-term, acute hazards. (OSHA) 11

Definitions “…any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.” “When a hazard in a confined space is immediately dangerous to life or health, the "permit space" classification is triggered. … whether the resulting exposure to a hazard in a confined space will impair the employee's ability to perform self-rescue is the aspect that must be addressed by the employer.” (OSHA) 12

Is This A Confined Space? 13

Are These Confined Spaces? 14

Pacheco Tank 15

In-Ground Vaults 16

Tunnels “Tunnel. An underground passageway, 30 inches in diameter or greater, excavated by employees working below the earth's surface, that provides a subterranean route along which employees, equipment or substances can move; other than passageways excavated by mine or quarry operators in connection with such operations.” - 8 CCR

“Tunnels” = “Confined Spaces” Pacheco: 5.2 miles Santa Clara: 1 mile Lexington: 2200 feet Coyote: 550 feet 18

Culverts 19

Culverts Culverts typically originate as a stream flowing across the earth's surface. The stream is enclosed in a pipe or a concrete structure (a "box culvert") consisting of a concrete floor resting on the earth's surface, concrete walls on either side which rise above the natural surface of the earth, and a roof connecting the walls (above the earth's surface), covering the stream flowing in the box culvert. Then a few feet of dirt is put on top of the box culvert, and a highway is built on top of that. 20

Internet Resources s/ConfSpa.pdf s/ConfSpa.pdf

Confined Space – Federal OSHA dex.html dex.html 22

Confined Space – Federal OSHA 23 confinedspaces.html

Confined Space – Canada’s OSHA /confinedspace_program.html /confinedspace_program.html 24