Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: CONFINED

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to flash fires, explosions and asphyxiation hazards due to a hazardous atmosphere while working in a confined space: a)Manhole Number ME-1: On or about April 29, 2010, the employees were exposed to flash fires, explosion hazards and asphyxiation hazards while working inside a manhole. Natural gas had accumulated inside the manhole and the employer did not provide the employees with a meter to test the atmosphere prior to entering and did not have a blower motor to ventilate the manhole prior to working inside. Among others, one feasible abatement method is to follow the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Standard Z117.1-2009, Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces, including the identification of hazards within a confined space (required in Section 3), control or elimination of atmospheric hazards prior to entry into the space (required in Section 5), atmospheric testing when necessary (required in Section 6), retrieval equipment (required in Section 12), and emergency rescue provisions (required in Section 14).