Attachment 8 - 670-16a-Confined Sapce.pdf

ORIGINATING OFFICE

Safety Branch

EFFECTIVE DATE

April 19, 2019

GPO Directive 670.16A April 19, 2019

Confined Spaces

1. Purpose. Ensure safe operations at the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) through a confined space policy.

2. Reference. 29 CFR §1910.146.

3. Supersedes. This directive supersedes GPO Directive 670.16, Subject: Confined Spaces, dated June 10, 2016.

4. Scope. This directive applies to GPO employees and all personnel working in GPO facilities, including contractors. While some provisions in this document will apply specifically to the Central Office Complex, most of the provisions apply to all GPO facilities, employees, and non-GPO employee occupants.

5. Policy. GPO employees may not enter permit-required confined spaces. All confined spaces are considered permit-required until fully evaluated by the Safety Branch for potential hazards.

6. Definitions.

a. Confined space is a space that:

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

(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.

b. Entry occurs as soon as any part of the entrant’s body breaks the plane of an opening into the space.

c. Hazardous atmosphere is one that exposes employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue, injury, or acute illness from one or more of the following causes:

(1) Flammable gas, vapor, or mist in excess of 10 percent of its lower flammability limit;

(2) Airborne combustible dust at a concentration which dust obscures the vision at a distance of 5 feet or less;

670.16A 4/19/2019

(3) Atmospheric oxygen concentration below 19.5 percent or above 23.5 percent;

(4) Atmospheric concentration of any substance which could result in employee exposure in excess of its permissible exposure limit; or

(5) Any other atmospheric condition that is immediately dangerous to life or health.

d. Permit-required confined space is a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics:

(1) Contains or has the potential to contain 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.

7. Procedures.

a. The Safety Branch will evaluate all confined spaces prior to entry and label the entry points to the confined space. If a confined space is not labeled, contact the Safety Branch to have the space evaluated and labeled.

b. Confined spaces labeled as permit-required will not be entered by GPO employees unless a formal confined space permit program has been established and all the requirements of the program have been met.

c. Some permit-required confined spaces will be labeled Lockout/Tagout required. This is normally on machinery that may need to be periodically serviced. These confined spaces become non-permit-required spaces after fully locking and tagging out the energy sources within the space.

8. Inquiries. Questions concerning the provisions of this directive should be directed to the Safety Branch at 202-512-1036.

9. Effective Date. This directive is effective upon issuance.

John W. Crawford Acting Deputy Director