Earlier this year, an incident in Quebec involving confined space work hazard resulted in three fatalities: a welder who fell unconscious inside a tank while using argon as a shielding gas and two colleagues who entered the confined space in a failed rescue attempt. A similar incident occurred in Alberta when two persons died from asphyxiation in 1997 (see ABSA Pressure News Vol. 3 Issue 3, 1998). These are powerful messages for people in our industry on the safety hazards of Confined Space .

In Alberta, the Occupational Health and Safety Code defines a confined space as An enclosed or partially enclosed space that is not designed or intended for continuous human occupancy with a restricted means of entry or exit and may become hazardous to a worker because; (a) of its design, construction, location, or atmosphere, (b) of the work activities, materials or substances in it, (c) the provision of first aid, evacuation, rescue or other emergency response is compromised, or (d) of other hazards relating to it. Under Alberta General Safety Regulation, both the employer and the employee are considered responsible for the well being of the person entering the confined space.
Some confined spaces that are related to pressure equipment industry are storage tanks, scrubbers, cooling towers, boilers, pressure vessels and furnaces.

Some of the hazards in the confined space are Oxygen deficiency or enrichment, toxic substances, poor visibility, electric shock, fire and explosion and residual materials/chemicals and mechanical energy sources.
Regarding the confined space entry, the responsibilities of the owners/employers, workers and all parties involved are clearly defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In all cases, ABSA inspection staff will not provide inspection services that require entry into a confined space until and unless all requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act provisions are fully complied with and our staff members are assured of their personal safety. We would like to urge all concerned to do likewise for the sake of public safety.

From the ABSA Pressure News Volume 11, Issue 4, December 2006. Visit their web site at absa.ca

First published in "the Operator", March 2007