Tunnel Safety

[BigH]

Hey all - thought you might be able to help.

In tunneling - is a tunnel considered a confined space? or is there a separate tunnel safety set of procedures? - most of which might also be applicable to confined space but not necessarily one-to-one correlation.

We seem to be having a "semantics" week here on site.

 

[jdonville]

BigH,

OSHA (29 CFR Part 1910.146) definitions:

"Confined space" means a space that:

(1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and

(2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and

(3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

"Permit-required confined space (permit space)" means a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics:

(1) Contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere;

(2) Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant;

(3) Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or

(4) Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9797

Jeff

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

I would say that a tunnel under construction is not a confined entry space per OSHA because of other rules namely MSHA. However, once construction is complete, most tunnels would qualify unless they were constructed specifically for use moving people from A to B.

 

[BigH]

Thanks - tunnel will be river diversion for our Indonesian dam when completed - so we can build the dam.