Confined Space Ventilation

Are We Really Moving Air, or Just

Making Ourselves Feel Good?
Class Schedule for Today
 Introductions and Class Overview
 Review of 29CFR1910.146-Permit
Required Confined Spaces
 Entrants, Attendants, and Supervisors-
Who are they?
 Confined Space Entry Organization-
Smoothing the Process
Schedule continued-
 Why Ventilation
 Ventilation Equipment
 The Mechanics of Ventilation
 Hazardous Atmospheres
 Relationships between Ventilation and
Atmospheric Monitoring
 Air Monitoring Equipment
Schedule continued-
 Air Monitoring Techniques
 Review and Questions
29CFR1910.146-Permit Required
Confined Spaces
 Definitions from the standard-the rules
we all have to live by,
 (Like them or not)
“Confined Space” means a space
that:
 Is large enough and so configured that
an employee can bodily enter and
perform assigned work;
 Has limited or restricted means for entry
or exit; and
 Is not designed for continous employee
occupancy
Permit Required Confined Space
 Contains one or more of the following
characteristics:
 Contains or has a 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 which slopes
downward and tapers to a smaller
cross-section;
 Contains any other recognized serious
safety or health hazard
Definitions-
 HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERES-
 Means an atmosphere that may expose
employees to the risk of death,
impairment of ability to self-rescue(that
is, escape unaided from a permit
space), injury, or acute illness from one
or more of the following causes:
Definitions continued:
 1) flammable gas, vapor, or mist in
excess of 10 percent of its lower
flammable limit (LFL)
 2) Airborne combustible dust at a
concentration that meets or exceeds its
LFL-Note: This concentration may be
approximated as a condition in which dust
obscures vision at a distance of 5 feet.
Definitions continued:
 3) Atmospheric oxygen concentration
below 19.5 percent or above 23.5
percent;
 4) Atmospheric concentration of any
substance for which a dose or a
permissible exposure limit is published
in Subpart G, or in Subpart Z which
could result in exposure above the PEL
Definitions continued:
 5) Any other atmospheric condition that
is immediately dangerous to life or
health.
 TESTING-
 means the process by which the
hazards that may confront entrants of a
permit space are identified and
evaluated. Testing includes specifying
the tests that are to be performed in the
permit space.
 Note: Testing enables employers to
both devise and implement adequate
control measures for the protection of
authorized entrants and to determine if
acceptable entry conditions are present
immediately prior to, and during , entry.
Entry Supervisor
 The person (such as the employer,
foreman, or crew chief) responsible for
determining if acceptable entry
conditions are present at a permit space
where entry is planned, for authorizing
entry and overseeing entry operations,
and for terminating entry as required by
this section.
Supervisor Duties
 Knows the hazards that may faced
during entry, including information on
the mode, signs, or symptoms, and
consequences of the exposure.
Supervisor Duties, continued
 Verfies, by checking that the
appropriate entries have been made on
the permit, that all tests specified by the
permit have been conducted and that all
procedures and equipment specified by
the permit are in place before endorsing
the permit and allowing entry to begin;
Supervisor Duties, continued
 Terminates the entry and cancels the
permit as required by paragraph (e) (5)
of this section;
 Verifies that rescue services are
available and that the means for
summoning them are operable;
Supervisor Duties, continued
 Removes unauthorized individuals who
enter or who attempt to enter the permit
space during entry operations;
Supervisor Duties, continued
 Determines, whenever responsibility for
a permit space entry operation is
transferred and at intervals dictated by
the hazards and operations performed
within the space, that entry operations
remain consistent with terms of the
entry permit and that acceptable entry
conditions are maintained.
Authorized Entrant
 An employee who authorized by the
employer to enter a permit space.
Authorized Entrant Duties
 Know the hazards that may be faced
during entry, including information on
the mode, signs or symptoms, and
consuquences of the exposure
 Properly use equipment as required by
paragraph (d) (4) of this section;
Entrant Duties, continued
 Communicate with the attendent as
necessary to enable the attendent to
monitor entrant status and to enable the
attendant to alert entrants of the need to
evacuate the space as required by
paragraph (I) (6) of this section;
Entrant Duties, continued
 Alert the attendant whenever:
 The entrant recognizes any warning sign
or symptom of exposure to a dangerous
situation
 The entrant detects a prohibited condition
 Exit from the permit space as quickly as
possible whenever:
Entrant Duties, continued
 An order to evacuate is given by the
attendant or entry supervisor,
 The entrant recognizes any warning sign
or symptom of exposure to a dangerous
situation,
 The entrant detects a prohibited condition
 An evacuation alarm is activated
Attendent
 An individual stationed outside one or
more permit spaces who monitors the
authorized entrants and who performs
all attendant duties assigned in the
employer’s permit space program.
Attendant Duties
 Knows the hazards that may be faced
during entry, including information on
the mode, signs or symptoms, and
consequences of the exposure
 Is aware of possible behavioral effects
of hazard exposure in authorized
entrants
Attendant Duties, continued
 Continuously maintains an accurate
count of authorized entrants in the
permit space and ensures that the
means used to identify authorized
entrants under paragraph (f) (4) of this
section accurately identifies who is in
the permit space;
Attendant Duties, continued
 Remains outside the permit space
during entry operations until relieved by
another attendent
 Communicates with authorized entrants
as necessary to monitor entrant status
and to alert entrants of the need to
evacuate the space under paragraph (I)
(6) of this section
Attendant Duties, continued
 Monitors activities inside and outside
the space to determine if it is safe for
entrants to remain in the space and
orders the authorized entrants to
evacuate the permit space immediately
under any of the following conditions;
Attendant Duties, continued
 Attendant detects a prohibited condition
 Attendant detects the behavioral effects
of hazard exposure in a authorized
entrant
 Attendant detects a situation outside the
space that could endanger the
authorized entrants
Attendant Duties, continued
 If the attendant cannot effectively and
safely perform all the duties required
under paragraph (i) of this section;
 Summon rescue and other emergency
services as soon as the attendant
determines that authorized entrants
may need assistance to escape from
the permit space hazards;
Thanks to the following:
 Texas Engineering Extension Service
 Texas A&M Industrial Rescue Division
 Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
 Super Vacuum Manufacturing Company
 The Roco Corporation