Confined spaces are hazardous for many reasons. But first, we have to look at what confined spaces are, the hazards they contain, and what makes them hazardous.
What is a confined space?
Confined spaces contain spaces for the activities of employees who enter and exit from them.
Confined spaces, by their configuration, may expose workers to risks, including engulfment, entrapment, and hazardous atmospheric conditions.
Constrictions, limited access, and restricted airflow contribute to hazardous conditions in confined spaces.
Why are confined spaces hazardous?
Confined spaces are truly deceiving because they sometimes appear harmless. This could be attributed to the fact that employees may have successfully entered and exited without incident, and sometimes, there are no observable danger signs in the confined space.
Various dangerous materials may be present in quantities that are considered to be immediately dangerous to life and health.
The confined space is hazardous because of the various hazards encountered in the confined space.
Various hazards are encountered in a confined space.
1. Atmospheric hazards, such as chemical vapours, can combine with a limited amount of oxygen in a confined space and cause asphyxiation and explosion.
2. low oxygen levels in a confined space can also lead to asphyxiation.
3. Physical hazards like unstable grain in silos that can engulf a worker working in a silo.
4. Sharp edges of the internal nature of some confined spaces can cause bodily injury and lacerations.
5. Conditions such as electrical equipment, falling objects, and wet and slippery surfaces are hazardous and can be accessed from confined spaces.
6. The corroding of the materials in the confined spaces and the decaying of the animals can cause oxygen depletion in confined spaces
7. Poor ventilation of the confined space
8. poor visibility in confined spaces because they sometimes do not have an arrangement of lighting.
9. There could be leaking chlorine gases in a confined space.
Onyeka Emma is a QHSE Professional with more than 10 years of experience in occupational health and safety, which spans many industries such as construction, beverage, oil and gas, etc. He has many health and safety certifications, including NEBOSH IGC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead auditor certificate. A member of IOSH, ISPON, and Nigeria Red Cross Society. He is interested in business, entrepreneurship, Speaking, and motivating people to do better for themselves. He enjoys leisure with a good motivational book.
