The Hazards of a Confined Space

 

A safety cone placed on the road

From outdoor construction sites to indoor corporate offices, there are many kinds of workplaces that exist today. Some are relatively safe, while others pose increased occupational hazards to the employees working inside of them.

A confined space is one such occupational liability to your life and health. Any accommodation, whether a room, vessel, chamber or something different, that as a consequence of being enclosed, is likely to put you through an emergency situation via injury or harm, is considered a ‘confined space.’

To know whether your workplace area is hazardous, you should consider COHSR’s criteria for a hazardous confined space:

· The area is enclosed or partially enclosed.

· The area is not meant for humans to occupy continuously.

· The area is difficult to access and exit, especially in the instance of an emergency.

A few examples of common workplace areas that count as confined spaces are but not limited to chimneys, underground sewers, and tunnels. Let’s take a look at some of the hazards associated with working in any of these dangerous occupational sites.

Inadequate Oxygen

Whether due to the area’s nature of being enclosed or situated underground, or due to naturally occurring chemical processes occurring inside of it, a decreased access to oxygen is one safety hazard of certain confined spaces.

Oxygen levels below 19.5% are dangerous and could result in light-headedness, nausea, unconsciousness, and even death of the workers.

 

An underground tunnel

Flooding

By virtue of their being enclosed, confined spaces are easily able to flood. Especially in underground sewer work, large amounts of water can quickly accumulate, causing workers to drown. Similarly, solid substances are also able to ‘flood’ a confined space, such as in the case of working inside trenches where workers are at risk of being buried by soil in the event of the trench collapsing.

Fire and Explosions

Confined spaces with either poor ventilation inside of them, or too much access to oxygen are at an increased risk of fires and explosions as a result of the build-up of combustible gases within the enclosed space.

Oxygen levels above 23.5% in an area are considered harmful in that they can result in the outbreaks of fire.

Metro Safety Training

As one of British Columbia’s leading first aid and workplace safety training institutions, Metro Safety Training, Canada provides a range of comprehensive courses and trainings to tackle different occupational hazards.

To book confined space training for your workplace, connect with Metro Safety Training today.

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