Confined Spaces
Entry into a confined space can only be accomplished after submission and approval of a Confined Space Work request.
Please click here for the Confined Space Safety Program.
What is a Confined Space?
A Confined Space is defined by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146 as any space that meets all three of the following requirements:
- Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform work;
- Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit; and
- Is not designed for continuous human occupancy.
Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS or Permit Space)
Confined spaces that contain any of the following characteristics:
- Contains, or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere.
- Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant.
- Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a small cross-section.
- Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.
Permit spaces require written permission prior to entry and involve careful consideration of the potential hazards and ways to mitigate or remove those hazards.
Things to consider:
- Will any chemicals be taken into the confined space?
- Will any activities within the confined space create a secondary hazard?
- Have all personnel been properly trained to identify and understand the hazards associated with Confined Space work?
