Safe work in confined spaces

Health and Safety

Safe work in confined spaces Confined Spaces Regulations 1997

Approved Code of Practice and guidance This Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance is for those who work or control work in confined spaces.

It explains the definition of a confined space in the Regulations and gives examples. It will help you assess the risk of working within a particular confined space and put precautions in place for work to be carried out safely.

This edition brings the ACOP up to date with regulatory and other changes. The guidance has been simplified to make the understanding and use of the document easier, particularly with clarifying the definition of a confined space.

Other changes include a flowchart to help in the decision-making process, additional examples including new workplace risks (such as specifically created hypoxic environments, fire suppression systems etc), and amendments relating to L101 (Third edition, the need to check, examine and test equipment. published 2014)

HSE Books

© Crown copyright 2014

First published 1997 Second edition 2009 Third edition 2014

ISBN 978 0 7176 6622 5

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Approved Code of Practice

This Code has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive, with the consent of the Secretary of State. It gives practical advice on how to comply with the law. If you follow the advice you will be doing enough to comply with the law in respect of those specific matters on which the Code gives advice. You may use alternative methods to those set out in the Code in order to comply with the law.

However, the Code has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions of the Code, you will need to show that you have complied with the law in some other way or a court will find you at fault.

Guidance

This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance.

Contents

Introduction 5 Meaning of ‘confined space’ 7 Regulation 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation 7 The hazards 10 Application of the Regulations 14 Regulation 2 Disapplication of Regulations 14 Regulation 8 Extension outside Great Britain 14 Duties under the Regulations 16 Regulation 3 Persons upon whom duties are imposed by these Regulations 16 Risk assessment 17 Factors to be assessed 18 Preventing the need for entry 21 Regulation 4 Work in confined spaces 21 Duties with regard to the design and construction of confined spaces 22 Safe working in confined spaces 24 Regulation 4 Work in confined spaces 24 Emergency procedures 34 Regulation 5 Emergency arrangements 34 Plant and equipment 38 Training 43 Regulation 6 Exemption certificates 44 Regulation 7 Defence in proceedings 44 Regulation 9 Repeal and revocations 45 Schedule Revocations 46 Appendix 1 Notice of Approval 47 Appendix 2 Relevant general health and safety law 48 Appendix 3 Standards relevant to manholes and other access to confined spaces 57 Further reading 58 Further information 61

Introduction

About this book

1 This Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and associated guidance provide practical advice on how you can comply with the requirements of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/1713).

2 This book is for employers and self-employed people, referred to in this document as dutyholders, as well as anyone who has responsibility for controlling work which may need to be carried out in a confined space, such as managers and supervisors. Throughout this book we have referred to those who have duties as ‘you’. Where the guidance is addressed to someone other than the dutyholder, for example a competent person, the text is clear about who it is intended for.

3 Changes in this edition include:

(a) expansion of the guidance on the definition of a ‘confined space’; (b) inclusion of a flowchart to help in the decision-making process; (c) additional examples of confined spaces to clarify new workplace risks, eg specifically created hypoxic environments, fire suppression systems etc; (d) those required to accommodate legislative or guidance changes, eg the smoking ban, changes to the testing procedures for lifting equipment and breathing apparatus; (e) amendments to the provisions relating to the need to check, examine and test equipment (monitors, personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory protective equipment (RPE)) to clarify the requirements of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).

Involving workers

4 Workplaces where employees are involved in taking decisions about health and safety are safer and healthier. Collaboration with your employees helps you to manage health and safety in a practical way by:

(a) helping you spot workplace risks; (b) making sure health and safety controls are practical; (c) increasing the level of commitment to working in a safe and healthy way.

5 Employers must consult employees in good time on health and safety matters. In workplaces where a trade union is recognised, this will be through union health and safety representatives. In non-unionised workplaces, consult either directly or through other elected representatives.

6 Consultation involves employers both giving information to employees and listening to them, taking account of what they say before making health and safety

decisions. See the HSE leaflet Consulting employees on health and safety: A brief guide to the law INDG232 (see Further reading) and our website (www.hse.gov.uk/ involvement) for more information. Issues you should consult employees on include:

(a) risks arising from their work; (b) proposals to manage and/or control these risks; (c) the best ways of providing information and training.

About ACOPs

7 ACOPs are approved by the HSE Board with the consent of the Secretary of State (see Appendix 1 Notice of Approval for details).

8 The ACOP describes preferred or recommended methods that can be used (or standards to be met) to comply with the Regulations and the duties imposed by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (the HSW Act). The accompanying guidance also provides advice on achieving compliance, or it may give information of a general nature, including explanation of the requirements of the law, more specific technical information or references to further sources of information.

9 The legal status of ACOP and guidance text is given on the copyright page (page 2).

Presentation

10 The ACOP text is set out in bold and the accompanying guidance in normal type, the text of the Regulations is in italics. Coloured borders also indicate each section clearly.

11 Some of the regulations are preceded by a short summary of the main duties imposed by that regulation to help the reader navigate the document. This is for information only.

Meaning of ‘confined space’

CONFINED SPACES REGULATIONS 1997

Regulation 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation Regulation 1 (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 28th January 1998.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“confined space” means any place, including any chamber, tank, vat, silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well or other similar space in which, by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably foreseeable specified risk;

“diving project” has the meaning assigned thereto by regulation 2(1) of the Diving at Work Regulations 1997;

“free flowing solid” means any substance consisting of solid particles and which is of, or is capable of being in, a flowing or running consistency, and includes flour, grain, sugar, sand or other similar material;

“mine” has the meaning assigned thereto by section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954;

“specified risk” means a risk of —

(a) serious injury to any person at work arising from a fire or explosion; (b) without prejudice to paragraph (a) — (i) the loss of consciousness of any person at work arising from an increase in body temperature; (ii) the loss of consciousness or asphyxiation of any person at work arising from gas, fume, vapour or the lack of oxygen; (c) the drowning of any person at work arising from an increase in the level of liquid; or (d) the asphyxiation of any person at work arising from a free flowing solid or the inability to reach a respirable environment due to entrapment by a free flowing solid;

“system of work” includes the provision of suitable equipment which is in good working order.

Guidance 1 Definition of ‘confined space’

12 Under these Regulations a ‘confined space’ must have both of the following defining features:

(a) it must be a space which is substantially (though not always entirely) enclosed; and (b) one or more of the specified risks must be present or reasonably foreseeable.

13 Some confined spaces are fairly easy to identify, for example sewers and closed tanks used to store chemicals. However, identification may not always be so easy, as a confined space is not necessarily:

(a) enclosed on all sides – some, such as vats, silos and ships’ holds, may have open tops or sides; (b) small and/or difficult to work in – some, like grain silos and ships’ holds, can be very large; (c) difficult to get in or out of – some have several entrances/exits, others have quite large openings or are apparently easy to escape from; or (d) a place where people do not regularly work – some confined spaces (such as those used for spray painting in car repair centres) are used regularly by people in the course of their work.

14 A place not usually considered to be a confined space may become one if there is a change in the conditions inside or a change in the degree of enclosure or confinement, which may occur intermittently. For example, an enclosed space may be free of contaminants and have a safe level of oxygen but the work to be carried out in it may change this, such as:

(a) welding that would consume some of the oxygen; (b) a spray booth during paint spraying; or (c) using chemicals for cleaning purposes which can add contaminants.

15 In such cases the space may be defined as a confined space while that work is ongoing and until the level of oxygen recovers or the contaminants have dispersed by ventilating the area.

16 Some confined spaces may be created deliberately, for example reduced oxygen (hypoxic) environments, where the oxygen level is depleted either by reducing the oxygen concentration or increasing the concentration of another gas such as nitrogen. Situations where hypoxic environments are used include to prevent ignition of fires in archives or to delay oxidation in fresh food preservation for fruit and vegetables.

17 Some spaces may meet the criteria to be a confined space when they are used to store certain specific items. Examples include:

(a) a store of gas cylinders (carbon dioxide, argon etc) held in an enclosed space (which if discharged would affect the atmosphere sufficiently to represent a specified risk); (b) a store of material used as part of a fire suppression system (which would represent a specified risk if discharged); or (c) a storage facility for wooden pellets used as fuel in heating systems.

18 When a space is identified as a confined space these Regulations will apply in full, even where the specified risk is controlled. The status of a space can change depending on circumstances as can the risks, for example heavy rain may present

Guidance 1 a foreseeable risk of drowning in a space not usually considered confined. The space may be defined as a confined space because of the work being carried out in it, and may cease to be a confined space when the ‘specified risk’ is removed and the atmosphere tested as safe, eg if the specified risk is due to fumes when cleaning with chemicals, the space may cease to be confined when the fumes have been removed by ventilation. Actions taken to mitigate a risk should be monitored to ensure they are working effectively and continue to do so throughout the task.

19 Figure 1 can help you with the decision-making process. It describes the specified risks – there must be at least one of these present or reasonably foreseeable to make any enclosed space a confined space within these Regulations.

Figure 1 Is the area a confined space? This space is not a No Is the space substantially or confined space totally enclosed? under these Regulations

Yes

Is there a risk of one or more of the following?

■■ Serious injury due to fire or explosion ■■ Loss of consciousness arising from increased body temperature ■■ Loss of consciousness or asphyxiation arising from This space is a Yes gas, fume, vapour, or lack confined space and of oxygen subject to the ■■ Drowning from an Regulations increase in the level of a liquid ■■ Asphyxiation arising from a free-flowing solid or being unable to reach a respirable environment due to being trapped by such a free-flowing solid

No This space is a confined space and subject to these Will the work to be done in the Yes Regulations as long as this space introduce one or more work is being carried out and of those risks? any residual risk remains, eg until produced fumes have been fully vented No

This space is not a confined space under these Regulations

Guidance 1 Examples of a confined space

20 In addition to the places referred to in regulation 1(2), the expression ‘confined space’ may also refer to the following locations and other similar places, but only where there is also the presence of or a reasonably foreseeable risk of one of the specified risks to the health and safety of those working in the space:

(a) ducts, culverts, tunnels, boreholes, bored piles, manholes, shafts, excavations and trenches, sumps, inspection and under-machine pits, cofferdams; (b) freight containers, ballast tanks, ships’ engine rooms and cargo holds; (c) buildings, building voids; (d) some enclosed rooms (particularly plant rooms) and compartments within them; (e) enclosures for the purpose of asbestos removal; (f) areas used for storage of materials that are likely to oxidise (such as store rooms for steel chains or wood pellet hopper tanks); (g) unventilated or inadequately ventilated rooms and silos; (h) structures that become confined spaces during fabrication or manufacture; and (i) interiors of machines, plant or vehicles.

21 This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other types of confined space.

22 Not all enclosed workplaces are subject to the Regulations; an enclosed workplace without a ‘specified risk’ is not a confined space that is subject to the Regulations even where there are other risks due to the size or difficulty of working in it. In ceiling voids, lofts and some cellars, if the space is cramped you may need to consider other risks, such as musculoskeletal disorders, or how people would be evacuated if they had a fall or injury. However, these areas would not be ‘confined spaces’ under the Regulations unless they met the requirements on being enclosed and having one or more of the specified risks. They would require a risk assessment and consideration of the relevant regulations, eg the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 or the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

The hazards 23 The hazards that the Confined Spaces Regulations address arise through the combination of the confined nature of the place of work and the possible presence of substances or conditions which, taken together, can increase the risk to safety or health. Hazards can exist in the space (eg fumes or a flammable atmosphere) or they can be introduced to a substantially enclosed space that otherwise would be safe (eg fumes released when using chemical cleaners). The most likely hazards are as follows.

Flammable substances and oxygen enrichment

24 A risk of fire or explosion can arise:

(a) from the presence of flammable substances, for example from fumes left in a tanker previously used for transporting petrol; (b) from an excess of oxygen in the atmosphere, for example caused by a leak from an oxygen cylinder forming part of welding equipment; (c) from the presence of chemicals that can combust or spark in enriched (or in some cases normal) oxygen levels; (d) from the ignition of airborne flammable contaminants such as flour dust; or (e) due to leaks from adjoining plant or processes that have not been effectively isolated.

Guidance 1 Excessive heat

25 Hot conditions can lead to a dangerous rise in core body temperature and this can be made worse by wearing PPE, highly physical or strenuous work, or working at a high work rate. In extreme cases heat stroke and unconsciousness can result.

26 Excessive heat can occur where:

(a) work is being done in hot conditions or where, for example, boilers or furnaces have not been allowed sufficient time to cool before entering to undertake maintenance work; (b) the confined space is exposed to the sun or another heat source; (c) equipment has been steam cleaned to remove hydrocarbons; or (d) hot work is being carried out, eg using welding equipment for repair.

27 A slower heat build-up in the body can also cause heat stress. If action is not taken to cool the body there is a risk of heat stroke and unconsciousness.

Toxic gas, fume or vapour

28 The presence of toxic gas, fume or vapour