Confined Spaces: Air Ventilation Systems
A confined space is one of the primary hazards that construction and industrial workers face on a day-to-day basis. While authorities and industry leaders have worked tirelessly in the past to provide a clear guideline about working on enclosed areas, there’s still some employees who don’t have the experience or equivalent training about some of the safety procedures and elements that are critical while working on confined spaces.
For rigid and enclosed working areas, ventilation is basically the most effective way to control atmospheric hazards. Confined space training programs even feature ventilation systems in detail as well as the standards that cover its proper setup and installation for the industrial and construction industry. Currently, mechanical ventilation systems can either be local exhaust ventilation and general ventilation.
Local exhaust ventilation works by capturing contaminants at their source before eliminating them, which is why this type of system is not recommended for widely dispersed contaminants or for enclosed spaces where ventilation can be difficult. In which case, general ventilation can be used instead.
General exhaust ventilation or dilution ventilation, on the other hand, flushes the atmosphere by supplying and exhausting large volumes of air. This ventilation set-up is ideal for providing oxygen and controlling low concentrations of materials that have low toxicity. However, its inability to reduce the amount of contaminants makes it unusable in highly toxic atmospheres.
Now that you have a rough idea about ventilation, check out this list of hazards that are typically associated with confined spaces:
Oxygen Deficiency
Shortage of oxygen is normally because of:
· Displacement of air by another gas
· Biological processes or chemical reactions
· Absorption of air onto steel and damp surfaces
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Flowing Liquid or Free Flowing Solids
Liquids or solids can enter the confined space and cause drowning or suffocation, and in some scenarios can also inflict other injuries including burns. If the atmosphere is flammable, workers are even in danger of facing grave risks such as explosion.
Toxic Atmosphere
Under worst circumstances, volatile chemicals and elements can cause acute and harmful effects like impairment of judgement, unconsciousness, and even death. Toxicity can go out of control inside confined spaces if it’s not being regularly monitored and if:
· There are remainders from previous processing or storage
· The work process triggered the release of toxic hidden in the confined area
· There are fire hazards within the space
· There’s rising from the disturbance of sludge and other deposits
For most confined spaces, fans or other air-moving equipment can provide sufficient ventilation so that workers can work safely and efficiently. However, one must also not forget that ventilation alone will not be enough to reduce some atmospheric hazards to safe levels.
During these instances, its best to refer to standards and guidelines set by your local commission or safety experts regarding confined spaces. In addition, you can use training to establish stronger protocols in the workplace or sustain your existing safety and health management plans. After all, accredited training programs and self-paced educational courses are now conveniently available online. Thus, allowing you to have more control over your learning process and schedule as well as the selection of topics that are most significant to your organization’s needs.
About the author:
Matt Luman is our EHS Product Marketing Manager at 360Training.com. He is an OSHA-authorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry and Construction. Prior to coming on board with the team, Matt worked for many years in the Oil and Gas Industry, spanning numerous sectors. He’s done everything he could in the industry, from washing trucks to developing EHS management systems. As EHS Product Marketing Manager, he is focused on creating lifelong industry.
