WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH AN ENTRY PERMIT PROTOCOL FOR CONFINED SPACES?
The law requires that confined spaces be identified and certain action taken before anyone may enter a confined space.
What is Confined Space?
The Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act Regulations for Industrial establishments define confined space as a space in which, because of its construction, location, contents or work activity therein, the accumula- tion of a hazardous gas, vapour, dust or fume or the cre- ation of an oxygen-deficient atmosphere may occur. Examples of confined spaces include the following:
• Completely enclosed structures with limited access, such as maintenance holes, storage tanks, tank cars and other vessels and chambers entered through a maintenance hole;
• Deep structures that may have an open top but require special means of entry and provision for emergency exits, such as tanks, lopping pits, bins, excavations, etc.;
• Other enclosed spaces include boilers, furnace flues, ducts, sewers, tunnels, pipelines, etc.
There are four main dangers in confined spaces: oxygen deficiency and oxygen enrichment; fire or explosion; tox- icity; and, drowning in liquids or free flowing solids. If there is a chance that hazardous vapours, dust, gas, or fumes exist in the confined spaces, the air must be tested and the area ventilated.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act Ontario Regulation 213/91 amended to O.Reg. 527/00 for Construction Projects, the following conditions apply for Confined Space under Part II - General Construction. For regulations on Excavations, please reference Part III of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Section 60 states:
(1)No worker shall be present in a confined space on a project unless,
(a)there is a means of egress from the parts of the con- fined space that are accessible to workers;
(b) all mechanical equipment in the confined space is disconnected from its power source and locked out; (c) all pipes and other supply lines in the confined space
whose contents are likely to create a hazard are blanked off; and
(d)the confined space is certified in accordance with subsection (3) to be safe for workers. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 60 (1).
(2)A competent worker shall test and evaluate a con- fined space before a worker enters it to determine whether it is free from hazard to a worker while the worker is present in it and as often as necessary to ensure that it remains free from hazard. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 60 (2).
(3)The worker who performs the tests shall certify in writing whether the confined space may endanger a worker. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 60 (3).
(4)The employer shall keep a permanent record of the results of all tests performed on a confined space. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 60 (4).
Section 61 states:
(1)No worker shall be present in a confined space in which there is or is likely to be a hazardous gas, vapour, dust, mist, smoke or fume or an oxygen con- tent of less than 18 per cent or more than 23 per cent, measured at atmospheric pressure, unless this section is complied with. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 61 (1).
(2)The confined space shall be purged and ventilated to provide an atmosphere which does not endanger workers and measures necessary to maintain the atmosphere shall be taken. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 61 (2). (3)Suitable arrangements shall be made to remove a
worker from the confined space should assistance be required. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 61 (3).
(4)When a worker is present in the confined space, another worker shall be stationed outside it. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 61 (4).
(5)If the person stationed outside the confined space is not adequately trained in artificial respiration, a per- son so trained shall be conveniently available. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 61 (5).
Section 62 states:
(1)Despite subsections 60 (1) and 61 (1), a worker may be present in a confined space that is not purged and ventilated and for which no certificate under subsec- tion 60 (3) has been given if this section is complied with. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 62 (1).
(2)A worker in a confined space shall use suitable pro- tective breathing apparatus and a full body harness securely attached to a rope,
(a)whose free end is attached securely to a fixed support located outside the confined space; and
(b)that is being held by a worker outside the confined space who is equipped with an alarm. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 62 (2).
(3) A means of communication between a worker in the
confined space and the worker outside it shall be pro- vided. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 62 (3).
(4) A person trained in artificial respiration and
equipped and able to perform rescue operations shall be readily available outside the confined space while a worker is inside it. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 62 (4). (5) A competent worker shall inspect all equipment
mentioned in subsection (2) as often as is necessary to ensure that it is in working order. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 62 (5).
Section 63 states:
(1)No worker shall be present in a confined space that contains or is likely to contain explosive or flamma- ble gas, dust, mist or vapour except as provided in this section. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 63 (1).
(2)A worker may engage in cleaning or inspecting activ- ities that do not create a source of ignition in a con- fined space in which the concentration of explosive or flammable gas or vapour is not likely to exceed 50 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the gas or
Entry Permit Protocol
vapour. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 63 (2).
(3)A worker may engage in cold work in a confined
space in which the concentration of explosive or flammable gas or vapour is not likely to exceed 10 per cent of the lower explosive limit of the gas or vapour. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 63 (3).
(4)In this section, "cold work" means a work procedure that does not generate heat and does not cause sparks or open flame, explosions or flash fires. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 63 (4).
References
(1) Occupational Health & Safety Act, R.R.O. Regulation 213/91, Amended to O.Reg. 527/00 Industrial Establishments.
(2) List prepared by Ontario Safety & Health Association.
REINFORCED CONCRETE PIPE 0.3 mm CRACK DESIGN
Reinforced concrete pipe is designed to have a 0.3 mm crack when it reaches its design load. These cracks are visible evidence that the concrete pipe has deflected, therefore placing the steel reinforcement into tension as it was designed to do. A reinforced concrete structural ele- ment may crack when it meets the design criteria. These hairline cracks do not provide a source for future corro- sion and do not cause leakage as they do not extend through the pipe wall. The crack is V-shaped and is widest at the surface. The fact that the 0.3 mm crack criterion is conservative is demonstrated by more than 70 years of experience in the United States and Canada. There has never been a report of deleterious corrosion of reinforce- ment in a concrete pipe due to the existence of cracks of a 0.3 mm magnitude.
THE WEIGHT OF CONCRETE PIPE