Confined Space Training

If you are one of the 1.6 million Americans who work in confined spaces each year, you know your job is dangerous. Serious injury or death in a confined
space can be the result of asphyxiation, engulfment, electric shock, falls and heat stress.
What is a confined space?
The Prince Edward Island Occupational General Safety Regulations define a
“Confined Space” as an enclosed or partially enclosed space;
13.1 In this Part “confined space” means a place to or from which the means of entry or exit are restricted because of location, design construction, or contents and includes bins, tanks, tankers, tunnels, silos, sewers, vaults, chambers, pipelines, pits, vessels, vats and flues.
(EC180/87)
Not designed or intended for regular human occupancy:
These spaces are not designed for workers to regularly enter and work in them on a routine basis. They are designed to store a product, enclose materials, or transport products or substances. Occasionally a worker may have to enter this space for inspection, maintenance, repair or similar tasks.
Restricted access or exit:
Confined spaces can have small openings which would restrict access or exit. However, confined spaces may also have large openings, such as pits, excavations and ships holds. Restricted access or exit generally inhibited movement such as bending, crawling, climbing or having to be mechanically transported.
Hazardous or may become hazardous because of its design, construction, location, atmosphere or the materials or substances in it or other conditions:
The atmosphere in a confined space may be hazardous for several reasons. The air may have too little or too much oxygen. The atmosphere may be toxic or explosive. Confined spaces may also have physical hazards, such as loose piled material, hazardous substances or sludge. Other hazards could include slip, trips and falls, high noise levels, extreme temperatures, electricity.
Entry into confined spaces can be very hazardous. Unless proper training, equipment, and procedures are in place, workers must not be allowed to enter such spaces. It is vital to identify all confined spaces in the workplace. Examples of confined spaces include tanks, silos, storage bins, process vessels, pipelines, sewers, underground utility vaults, and vats. Workers have died because they did not know they were entering a confined space and therefore did not take the necessary precautions.

Examples of Confined Spaces
• Storage tanks and vessels
• Sewers and manholes
• Underground utility vaults
• Agriculture silos
• Railcar tanks
• Tunnels