18 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com
A
worker in B.C. was about to enter a
confi ned space at night. The limited
oxygen in this confi ned space might
have been a respiratory hazard if not
for the ventilation system that had
been installed. Unfortunately, the
solution created an additional hazard
that he couldn't see: the guard on the
fan was broken. When the worker
entered the space, he put his hand on the fan for support and
instantly lost a few of his fi ngers.
"Dark, spooky, nasty, awful," is how Lynanne Fortin describes
confi ned spaces. She is the senior safety consultant for Ronin Safety & Rescue in Delta, B.C., who
was on-site after the incident.
WorkSafeBC's defi nition of a confi ned space is similar to that of other Canadian jurisdictions: "…
an area that is enclosed or partially enclosed; is not designed or intended for continuous human
occupancy; has limited or restricted means for entry or exit that may complicate the provision of fi rst
aid, evacuation, rescue or other emergency response service; and is large enough and so confi gured
that a worker could enter to perform assigned work."
Though confi ned spaces are not designed for humans, work often takes us there.
"People could be in there to do cleaning, welding, replacing, fi xing something, removing or
inspecting equipment, and sometimes for an entire shift," says Jeremy Slater, regional sales manager
for British Columbia at Acklands-Grainger in Vancouver.
Even when the work is routine, Slater says, the person entering the confi ned space must assess
the hazards beforehand.
"Having a proper work plan for your confi ned space that highlights all the previous conditions
and hazards is extremely important. And you should do a hazard assessment prior to entry every
time because conditions can change from morning to afternoon," he says.
By Michelle Morra-Carlisle
Protecting
workers from
the physical
hazards of
confi ned
spaces
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Kee (5340).indd 1 13-01-29 11:49 PM
