{"id":43708,"date":"2020-07-10T13:36:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T20:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/?page_id=43708"},"modified":"2025-07-07T11:22:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:22:58","slug":"sppm-2-68","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/index\/manuals\/safety-policies-procedures-manual\/sppm-2-68\/","title":{"rendered":"2.68 Confined Spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading wsu-font-size--xxmedium\">Safety Policies and Procedures Manual<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Confined Spaces<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<p><strong>SPPM 2.68<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For more information contact:<\/strong><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;Environmental Health and Safety<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;509-335-3041<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Overview<\/h3>\n<p>Confined spaces may contain atmospheric and physical hazards that can quickly and unpredictably incapacitate individuals. Departments and employees are to follow the procedures in the University&#8217;s Confined Space Program, which are designed to protect employees required to enter potentially hazardous confined<br>spaces.<\/p>\n<p>The program includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identification of confined spaces<\/li>\n<li>Employee training<\/li>\n<li>Hazard assessment and control<\/li>\n<li>Alternative methods entry procedures<\/li>\n<li>Permit entry procedures<\/li>\n<li>Rescue procedures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><a name=\"campus_ehs\">Campus EH&amp;S Departments<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Departments and employees at all WSU locations may obtain copies of the written confined space program by contacting the applicable campus Environmental Health and Safety (EH&amp;S) department:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 21.3246%\">WSU Pullman EH&amp;S<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 94.7701%\">509-335-3041<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 21.3246%\">WSU Spokane EH&amp;S<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 94.7701%\">509-358-7621<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 116.095%\" colspan=\"2\">WSU Spokane EH&amp;S also provides information and assistance to WSU Health Sciences\u2014Yakima (which includes College of Nursing\u2014Yakima and College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences\u2014Yakima).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 21.3246%\">WSU Tri-Cities EH&amp;S<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 94.7701%\">509-372-7163<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 21.3246%\">WSU Vancouver<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 94.7701%\">360-546-9706<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Personnel at WSU locations not listed above may contact WSU Pullman EH&amp;S for assistance.<\/p>\n<h4>Permit-Required Spaces<\/h4>\n<p>Departments must contact the applicable campus EH&amp;S office to obtain permits for employee entry into permit-required confined spaces. See Campus EH&amp;S Departments above.<\/p>\n<h5>WSU Spokane<\/h5>\n<p>WSU Spokane departments must submit post-job reviews to WSU Spokane EH&amp;S regarding employee entry into confined spaces.<\/p>\n<h3>Definitions<\/h3>\n<h4>Confined Space<\/h4>\n<p>A confined space is a space that meets all the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is large enough and arranged so that an employee can fully enter the space.<\/li>\n<li>Has limited or restricted entry or exit.<\/li>\n<li>Is not primarily designed for continuous human occupancy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Permit-Required Confined Space&nbsp;<\/h4>\n<p>A permit-required confined space is a space that meets all the requirements of a confined space plus one or more of the following characteristics capable of causing death or serious physical harm:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere (e.g., air contaminants, low oxygen levels, explosive atmospheres).<\/li>\n<li>Contains a material with a potential for engulfing someone who enters the space.<\/li>\n<li>Has an internal configuration that could allow someone entering to be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls.<\/li>\n<li>Contains a physical hazard (e.g., electrical shock or moving parts).<\/li>\n<li>Contains any other recognized safety or health hazard that could either impair the ability to self-rescue or result in a situation that presents an immediate danger to life or health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> A confined space can become a permit-required confined space if atmospheric and\/or physical hazards are created by work activities within the space, such as chemical cleaning, painting, sealing, torch cutting, welding and other similar activities.<\/p>\n<h4>Examples<\/h4>\n<p>Examples of confined spaces and potential permit-required confined spaces at WSU include: utility tunnels, grain silos, utility <br>vaults, boilers, sewage lift stations, septic tanks, air plenums and ducts, steam tunnels, sump pits, manure collection pits, and sanitary sewer manholes.<\/p>\n<h3>Responsibility<\/h3>\n<h4>Campus Environmental Health and Safety (EH&amp;S)<\/h4>\n<p>Campus Environmental Health and Safety (EH&amp;S) departments are responsible for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Managing the confined space program.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluating confined spaces to identify inherent and potential hazards.<\/li>\n<li>Identifying and labeling permit-required confined spaces.<\/li>\n<li>Coordinating with units in developing confined space entry procedures.<\/li>\n<li>Assisting departments with atmospheric monitoring upon request.<\/li>\n<li>Providing supervisor and employee training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Supervisors<\/h4>\n<p>Supervisors are responsible for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Notifying the applicable EH&amp;S office of confined spaces and potentially permit-required confined spaces that employees might enter. See <a href=\"#campus_ehs\">Campus EH&amp;S Departments<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Ensuring that employees are trained prior to entering confined spaces.<\/li>\n<li>Identifying confined space physical and atmospheric hazards and hazard controls.<\/li>\n<li>Documenting confined space entry procedures, including identified physical and atmospheric hazards and hazard controls on the alternative methods documentation form or confined space permit.<\/li>\n<li>Ensuring that employees follow established permit-required and\/or alternative method entry procedures.<\/li>\n<li>Not entering, and not allowing employees to enter, a confined space to rescue incapacitated employees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Employees<\/h4>\n<p>Employees are responsible for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Following confined space training.<\/li>\n<li>Following permit-required and alternative method confined space entry procedures.<\/li>\n<li>Not entering a confined space to rescue incapacitated employees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Campus Facilities Services<\/h4>\n<p>The campus Facilities Services departments are responsible for coordinating with contractors and the campus EH&amp;S departments prior to contractors&#8217; employees entering University confined spaces. No contractor employees are allowed to enter any University confined spaces until the applicable requirements of <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.leg.wa.gov\/WAC\/default.aspx?cite=296-809-20006\">WAC 296-809-20006<\/a> are met.<\/p>\n<h3>Confined Space Rescue<\/h3>\n<p>Supervisors and employees are not to enter a confined space to rescue incapacitated employees. Call 911 to report confined space emergencies. The emergency dispatcher contacts trained emergency responders to perform rescue operations.<\/p>\n<h3>Assistance<\/h3>\n<p>Contact the campus EH&amp;S department for assistance in evaluating confined spaces, establishing entry procedures, and training employees. See <a href=\"#campus_ehs\">Campus EH&amp;S Departments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: .8rem\">_______________________<br><strong>Revisions:<\/strong>&nbsp; July 2020 (Rev. <a href=\"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/index\/revisions\/sppm-revisions\/sppm-revision-124\/\">124<\/a>); Mar. 2011 (Rev. 88); Mar. 2000 &#8211; new policy (Rev. 30).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Safety Policies and Procedures Manual Confined Spaces<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1061,"featured_media":0,"parent":21864,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43708"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1061"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43708"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67209,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43708\/revisions\/67209"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=43708"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=43708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}