Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Notes
Aim:
Objectives
If a permit is required, an
entry team will oversee the
entire entry operation.
Each member of the team
must be familiar with the
specific hazards of the
space and follow specific
practices and procedures
to control or eliminate
them.
To be certain entrants
stay safe as they work,
the entry operation must
be continuously
monitored.
Is it current? ( ) ( )
3. Rescue Procedure:
We have reviewed the work authorized by this permit and the information contained here-in.
Written instructions and safety procedures have been received and are understood.
Entry cannot be approved if any squares are marked in the NO column. This permit is not
valid
unless all appropriate items are completed.
This permit to be kept at job site. Return job site copy to Safety Office following job
completion.
Copies: White Original ( Safety Office) Yellow ( Unit Supervisor) red (Job Site)
Make sure the entry conditions
required by the permit are in
effect.
Make sure all required safety
equipment, special tools, and
rescue equipment is at the site.
Wear all personal protective
equipment called for. Harnesses
and lifelines are required unless
they increase the risk of entry or
would not help in rescue.
Make sure that communications
between the attendant and all the
entrants will be clear and
understood.
Atmospheric Hazards
Atmospheric hazards
kill more than all other confined space
hazards combined. Except for dusts
and mists, atmospheric hazards are
normally invisible. And they can
overcome you very quickly.
PRE-ENTRY TESTS must check
for oxygen deficiency or excess:
flammable gases or vapors: and toxic
gases or vapors.
PURGING
VENTILATION
RESPIRATORS
PURGING
Must:
Verify that all tests, procedures and
equipment required for a safe entry
operation are in place.
Verify that rescue services can be
summoned.
Start the entry operation by signing the
entry permit.
Remove unauthorized people from the
permit space and the area.
Make sure that the operation remains safe.
Terminate the entry and cancel the permit
if conditions arise that are not allowed in
the permit, or when the work is completed.
An entrant or an attendant may also serve
as the Entry Supervisor provided that he
or she is properly trained to perform the
additional duties.
2. SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING
APPARATUS
When you
enter a
permit
space, you
may
encounter
other
HAZARDS.
ENGULFMENT
Ifyou sink into or get
covered by loose material
such as fine coal, sawdust or
grains, the material can get
into your breathing passages
very quickly, suffocating you.
Wear a harness and lifeline,
and make certain you can
be pulled from the space.
ENTRAPMENT OR
CAPTURE
People have been trapped in
vessels and caught in
machinery, then died of
exposure or suffocation
before anyone even knew
they were missing.
Never enter a permit space
without an attendant
watching out for you.
MECHANICAL
EQUIPMENT
Machinery such as blades,
rotors, or conveyors can shift
because of tensioned
springs, hydraulic pressure
or even gravity.
Mechanically disconnect drives
and belts when necessary, or
physically block anything
which could move.
ISOLATION
PROCEDURES
You also need protection from the
hazards which can enter a
confined space while you are
inside.
Chemical or physical hazards can
come in through open lines:
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
SUFFOCATED WHEN A
PRODUCT (like molasses) OR A
GAS (like nitrogen) WAS
MISTAKENLY PUMPED INTO A
SPACE.
Electrical Energy can enter when someone
throws a switch. Machinery can start up,
crushing you. You can be electrocuted easily
if you are standing on grounded metal.
As soon as an attendant
determines that entrants may
need assistance to escape
from the space, rescuers
must be summoned.
OXYGEN DEFICIENCY or
EXCESS
FLAMMABLE GASES AND
VAPORS
TOXIC GASES and VAPORS
Whichever instrument
TESTING PROCEDURES
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FLAMMABLE GASES AND
VAPORS
Standard flammable gas detectors read
flammable gases and vapors as a
percentage of the lower flammable limit
(LFL) or the lower explosive limit (LEL).
At the lower explosive limit (100% LEL ) a
vapor-air mixture will explode if a spark or
flame is added.
Most detectors are not designed to detect
conditions in or above the flammable range
accurately. However, they will indicate in
some way that the vapor or gas
concentration is above the lower explosive
limit. Make certain you know when you
instrument is indicating this condition.
Even when flammable materials have not
been used or stored in a space, testing for
flammability may still be required. For
example, decaying organic matter
produces methane, a flammable gas that
has no smell, no taste and cannot be seen.
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An atmosphere is hazardous when it
contains a flammable gas, vapor or mist
in excess of 10% of its lower explosive
limit.
Too rich
UPPER EXPLOSIVE
LIMIT
Will ignite
FLAMMABLE
or explode
RANGE
LOWER EXPLOSIVE
LIMIT Too Lean
to burn
HAZARDOUS
HAZARDOUS
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5
Toxic Gases and
Vapors
When testing for toxic gases, you must
know that you are looking for because toxic
gas detectors are very specific. Most
electronic gas detectors detect carbon
monoxide and /or hydrogen sulfide. Other
instruments are available to test for less
common substances.
Even though some toxic gases are
flammable, they become toxic long before
they become an explosion hazard.
Never test for toxic concentrations of a
substance with a flammability meter.
Most toxic gases must be measured in parts
per million or parts per billion because they
toxic at extremely low concentration--much
too low to detect without the proper gas
detecting device.
If a gas detector alarms, get out -- even if you do
not notice any problems. The equipment is
designed to detect hazardous conditions long
before you can. It can save your life!
VENTILATION:
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Ventilation systems keep
hazards away after purging has removed
them. They are used to:
Supply fresh air to breathe.
Remove potentially hazardous
conditions before they become
hazardous.
Supply cool air for comfort.
76
Some products which produce a lot of static
electricity may have internal bonding; but others do
not. Read instructions and warning labels, and make
sure that the equipment is used safely.
Performing Hot work. Welding or the
use of open flames requires special work
procedures. You may need a hot work permit in
addition to the regular entry permit.
When you are performing hot work:
Check for any flammable materials or liquids in
the area.
Test any adjacent spaces for a flammable
atmosphere.
Use a fire watch ( a person to warn of fires
inadvertently started by the work).
Do not take any compressed gas cylinders into
the space ( other than an SCBA or an emergency
escape bottle).
Take any welding hoses and tips out of the space
during a long break.
77
USING RESPIRATORS
When ventilation can not control
atmospheric hazards, respirators are
required.
Only fully trained people may use a
respirator.
Only positive pressure atmosphere
supplying respirators are permitted in
hazardous atmospheres.
USING BARRIERS
If pedestrian or vehicular traffic is a potential
hazard during a confined space entry,
barriers must be set up around the entrance.
Barriers can also minimize the chance that
tools or equipment might be dropped into the
space. Always work carefully around an
opening. Many entrants have been seriously
injured by objects falling into a space.
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USING LADDERS
SET ladders at the correct
angle.
TIE ladders off at the top.
USE ladders equipped with
safety feet.
DO NOT USE a metal ladder
when working around electricity.
USE fall arresting devices
whenever the potential for a fall
exists.
WEARING PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
When entering a confined space requires a
permit, entrants will normally have to use
a retrieval system. Harnesses and lifelines
must be used unless they would increase
the risks of entry or would not help in
rescue. The lifeline must be attached to a
fixed point outside the space or to a
retrieval device. Mechanical retrieval
devices must be used if the space is
more than five feet deep.
Many jobs in confined spaces require
protective gear such as hardhats, gloves,
boots, eye protection, hearing protection,
and protective clothing. Read the entry
permit to be certain you know what
protection you need before you go into a
confined space.
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AND REMEMBER THAT
INSIDE A SPACE:
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING CAN MAKE
MOVEMENT DIFFICULT. IT MIGHT
ALSO CAUSE YOU TO BECOME
OVERHEATED QUICKLY. DRINK
PLENTY OF LIQUIDS, EVEN IN COLD
WEATHER.
NOISE MIGHT BE LOUD ENOUGH TO
KEEP YOU FROM HEARING AN
ALARM. IT COULD ALSO INTERFERE
WITH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
YOU AND YOUR ATTENDANT.
MAINTAIN GOOD VISUAL CONTACT,
OR USE SOME OTHER METHOD OF
COMMUNICATION.
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USING ELECTRICAL
EQUIPMENT
Ifa confined space presents
an electrocution hazard:
Use ground fault circuit
interrupters or low voltage
isolation transformers.
Use grounded or doubly
insulated tools.
Make certain that all electrical
equipment is in good repair.
REMEMBER THAT WORKING
SAFELY INSIDE A CONFINED
SPACE ALSO DEPENDS UPON
MAKING THAT SPACE SAFE
BEFORE YOU ENTER.