On December 1, 1998, OSHA will issue its new Final
Rule amending its Confined Space Standard to provide employees with more information and
greater involvement in efforts to protect them while working in tanks, vessels and other
enclosed spaces. The amended Standard allows workers to observe testing or monitoring of
confined spaces and clarifies the requirements employers must satisfy when preparing a
timely rescue of a worker who has been incapacitated in a confined space. The Final Rule
becomes effective February 1, 1999.
OSHA considers a tank or other enclosed area a
confined space if it is large enough and so configured that an employee can enter and
perform assigned work; has limited or restricted means of entry or exit; and, is not
designed for continuous employee occupation. Items such as tanks, vessels, silos, storage
bins, hoppers, vaults and pits are included within this definition.
A "permit-required confined space" or a
"permit space" contains, or has a potential to contain, hazardous atmospheres;
contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant; has an internal
configuration such that an entrant would be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging
walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross section; or,
contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard. 29 CFR 1910.146(b)
The revised Rule also clarifies the employer's
obligation to select a rescue service that is trained, equipped and responsive to
emergencies during confined space entries and work. The new found Rule requires employers
to consult with affected employees, and their representatives, in developing and
implementing confined space programs.
Specifically, the Final Rule strengthens the
requirements to allow for greater employee participation in the permit-space program and
for the employees' access to program information developed under this Standard. By
allowing authorized entrants, or their authorized representatives, to observe the testing
of the spaces they are required to enter, will help to insure that the testing has been
done properly, that respirators and other personal protective equipment being worn or
appropriate and that the entrants understand the nature of the hazard present in this
space. Of course, this presupposes that the employer will comply with OSHA and do any
testing in the first place. Employees can demand that any confined space be tested for
hazardous atmospheres before entry.
Numerous industries are affected by the new confined
space Rule, including the agricultural industry, oil and gas, food and tobacco production,
textile, wood, furniture, paper and printing production and publishing, chemical and
petroleum industry, rubber, leather, stone, clay and glass industries, metal industry and
the fabrication of metals, as well as electrical and electronic industry and
transportation services, including mortar freight transportation, commercial real estate
and hotels, as well as the motion picture industry and health services.
