(a)
Before it begins work at a worksite, each employer shall ensure that a
competent person identifies all confined spaces in which one or more of the
employees it directs may work, and identifies each space that is a permit
space, through consideration and evaluation of the elements of that space,
including testing as necessary.
(b)
If the workplace contains one or more permit spaces, the employer who
identifies, or who receives notice of, a permit space shall:
(1) Inform exposed employees by posting
danger signs or by any other equally effective means, of the existence and
location of, and the danger posed by, each permit space; and
NOTE to Section
1952(b)(1): A sign
reading "DANGER -- PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER" or using other
similar language would satisfy the requirement for a sign.
(2) Inform, in a timely manner and in a
manner other than posting, its employees' authorized representatives and the
controlling contractor of the existence and location of, and the danger posed
by, each permit space.
(c) Each employer who identifies, or receives
notice of, a permit space and has not authorized employees it directs to work
in that space shall take effective measures to prevent those employees from
entering that permit space, in addition to complying with all other applicable
requirements of this standard.
(d)
If any employer decides that employees it directs will enter a permit space,
that employer shall have a written permit space program that complies with
Section
1953 implemented at the
construction site. The written program shall be made available prior to and
during entry operations for inspection by employees and their authorized
representatives.
(e) An employer
may use the alternate procedures specified in Section
1952(e)(2) for
entering a permit space only under the conditions set forth in Section
1952(e)(1).
(1) An employer whose employees enter a
permit space need not comply with Sections
1953 through
1955 and Sections
1957 through
1960, provided that all of the
following conditions are met:
(A) The
employer can demonstrate that all physical hazards in the space are eliminated
or isolated through engineering controls so that the only hazard posed by the
permit space is an actual or potential hazardous atmosphere;
(B) The employer can demonstrate that
continuous forced air ventilation alone is sufficient to maintain that permit
space safe for entry, and that, in the event the ventilation system stops
working, entrants can exit the space safely;
(C) The employer develops monitoring and
inspection data that supports the demonstrations required by Section
1952(e)(1)(A) and
(e)(1)(B);
(D) If an initial entry of the permit space
is necessary to obtain the data required by Section
1952(e)(1)(C), the
entry is performed in compliance with Sections
1953 through
1960;
(E) The determinations and supporting data
required by Section
1952(e)(1)(A),
Section
1952(e)(1)(B), and
Section
1952(e)(1)(C) are
documented by the employer and are made available to each employee who enters
the permit space under the terms of Section
1952(e) or to that
employee's authorized representative; and
(F) Entry into the permit space under the
terms of Section
1952(e)(1) is
performed in accordance with the requirements of Section
1952(e)(2).
NOTE to Section
1952(e)(1): See
Section 1952(g) for
reclassification of a permit space after all hazards within the space have been
eliminated.
(2)
The following requirements apply to entry into permit spaces that meet the
conditions set forth in Section
1952(e)(1):
(A) Any conditions making it unsafe to remove
an entrance cover shall be eliminated before the cover is removed.
(B) When entrance covers are removed, the
opening shall be immediately guarded by a railing, temporary cover, or other
temporary barrier that will prevent an accidental fall through the opening and
that will protect each employee working in the space from foreign objects
entering the space.
(C) Before an
employee enters the space, the internal atmosphere shall be tested, with a
calibrated direct-reading instrument, for oxygen content, for flammable gases
and vapors, and for potential toxic air contaminants, in that order. Any
employee who enters the space, or that employee's authorized representative,
shall be provided an opportunity to observe the pre-entry testing required by
subsection (e).
(D) No hazardous
atmosphere is permitted within the space whenever any employee is inside the
space.
(E) Continuous forced air
ventilation shall be used, as follows:
1. An
employee shall not enter the space until the forced air ventilation has
eliminated any hazardous atmosphere;
2. The forced air ventilation shall be so
directed as to ventilate the immediate areas where an employee is or will be
present within the space and shall continue until all employees have left the
space;
3. The air supply for the
forced air ventilation shall be from a clean source and shall not increase the
hazards in the space.
(F)
The atmosphere within the space shall be continuously monitored unless the
entry employer can demonstrate that equipment for continuous monitoring is not
commercially available or periodic monitoring is sufficient. If continuous
monitoring is used, the employer shall ensure that the monitoring equipment has
an alarm that will notify all entrants if a specified atmospheric threshold is
achieved, or that an employee will check the monitor with sufficient frequency
to ensure that entrants have adequate time to escape. If continuous monitoring
is not used, periodic monitoring is required. All monitoring shall ensure that
the continuous forced air ventilation is preventing the accumulation of a
hazardous atmosphere. Any employee who enters the space, or that employee's
authorized representative, shall be provided with an opportunity to observe the
testing required by subsection (e)(2)(F).
(G) If a hazard is detected during entry:
1. Each employee shall leave the space
immediately;
2. The space shall be
evaluated to determine how the hazard developed; and
3. The employer shall implement measures to
protect employees from the hazard before any subsequent entry takes
place.
(H) The employer
shall ensure a safe method of entering and exiting the space. If a hoisting
system is used, it shall be designed and manufactured for personnel hoisting;
however, a job-made hoisting system is permissible if it is approved for
personnel hoisting by a registered professional engineer, in writing, prior to
use.
(I) The employer shall verify
that the space is safe for entry and that the pre-entry measures required by
Section
1952(e)(2) have
been taken, through a written certification that contains the date, the
location of the space, and the signature of the person providing the
certification. The certification shall be made before entry and shall be made
available to each employee entering the space or to that employee's authorized
representative.
(f) When there are changes in the use or
configuration of a non-permit confined space that might increase the hazards to
entrants, or some indication that the initial evaluation of the space may not
have been adequate, each entry employer shall have a competent person
reevaluate that space and, if necessary, reclassify it as a permit-required
confined space.
(g) A space
classified by an employer as a permit-required confined space may only be
reclassified as a non-permit confined space when a competent person determines
that all of the applicable requirements in Section
1952(g)(1) through
(g)(4) have been met:
(1) If the permit space poses no actual or
potential atmospheric hazards and if all hazards within the space are
eliminated or isolated without entry into the space (unless the employer can
demonstrate that doing so without entry is infeasible), the permit space may be
reclassified as a non-permit confined space for as long as the non-atmospheric
hazards remain eliminated or isolated;
(2) The entry employer shall eliminate or
isolate the hazards without entering the space, unless it can demonstrate that
this is infeasible. If it is necessary to enter the permit space to eliminate
or isolate hazards, such entry shall be performed under Sections
1953 through
1960. If testing and inspection
during that entry demonstrate that the hazards within the permit space have
been eliminated or isolated, the permit space may be reclassified as a
non-permit confined space for as long as the hazards remain eliminated or
isolated;
NOTE to Section
1952(g)(2):
Control of atmospheric hazards through forced air ventilation does not
constitute elimination or isolation of the hazards. Section
1952(e) covers
permit space entry where the employer can demonstrate that forced air
ventilation alone will control all hazards in the space.
(3) The entry employer shall document the
basis for determining that all hazards in a permit space have been eliminated
or isolated, through a certification that contains the date, the location of
the space, and the signature of the person making the determination. The
certification shall be made available to each employee entering the space or to
that employee's authorized representative; and
(4) If hazards arise within a permit space
that has been reclassified as a non-permit space under Section
1952(g), each
employee in the space shall exit the space. The entry employer shall then
reevaluate the space and reclassify it as a permit space as appropriate in
accordance with all other applicable provisions of this
standard.
(h) Permit
Space Entry Communication and Coordination.
(1) Before entry operations begin, the host
employer shall provide the following information, if it has it, to the
controlling contractor:
(A) The location of
each known permit space;
(B) The
hazards or potential hazards in each space or the reason it is a permit space;
and
(C) Any precautions that the
host employer or any previous controlling contractor or entry employer
implemented for the protection of employees in the permit
space.
(2) Before entry
operations begin, the controlling contractor shall:
(A) Obtain the host employer's information
about the permit space hazards and previous entry operations; and
(B) Provide the following information to each
entity entering a permit space and any other entity at the worksite whose
activities could foreseeably result in a hazard in the permit space:
1. The information received from the host
employer;
2. Any additional
information the controlling contractor has about the subjects listed in Section
1952(h)(1);
and
3. The precautions that the
host employer, controlling contractor, or other entry employers implemented for
the protection of employees in the permit spaces.
(3) Before entry operations begin, each entry
employer shall:
(A) Obtain all of the
controlling contractor's information regarding permit space hazards and entry
operations; and
(B) Inform the
controlling contractor of the permit space program that the entry employer will
follow, including any hazards likely to be confronted or created in each permit
space.
(4) The
controlling contractor and entry employer(s) shall coordinate entry operations
when:
(A) More than one entity performs permit
space entry at the same time; or
(B) Permit space entry is performed at the
same time that any activities that could foreseeably result in a hazard in the
permit space are performed.
(5) After entry operations:
(A) The controlling contractor shall debrief
each entity that entered a permit space regarding the permit space program
followed and any hazards confronted or created in the permit space(s) during
entry operations;
(B) The entry
employer shall inform the controlling contractor in a timely manner of the
permit space program followed and of any hazards confronted or created in the
permit space(s) during entry operations; and
(C) The controlling contractor shall apprise
the host employer of the information exchanged with the entry entities pursuant
to subsection (h)(5).
NOTE to Section
1952(h): Unless a
host employer or controlling contractor has or will have employees in a
confined space, it is not required to enter any confined space to collect the
information specified in Section
1952(h).
(i) If there is no controlling contractor
present at the worksite, the requirements for, and role of, controlling
contactors in Section
1952 shall be fulfilled by the host
employer or other employer who arranges to have employees of another employer
perform work that involves permit space entry.