Fact Sheet:
Training
Confined Spaces
Many workplaces contain spaces that are
considered to be “confined” because their
configurations hinder the activities of employees
who must enter into, work in, or exit from them.
A permit-required confined space has one or more
of these characteristics:
• Contains or has the potential to contain a
hazardous atmosphere
• Contains a material with the potential lto
engulf someone who enters the space
• Has an internal configuration that might cause
an entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by
inwardly converging walls or by a floor that
slopes downward and tapers to a smaller
cross-section
• Contains any other recognized serious safety
or health hazards
Required equipment for permit-required confined
space entry includes:
Retrieval devices Lighting
Barriers Ladders
Communication devices Ventilation equipment
OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER
Note the following key points in this lesson:
▪ If hazardous conditions are detected during
entry into a confined space, employees must
immediately leave the space
▪ The employer must evaluate the space to
determine the cause of the hazardous
atmosphere and modify the program as
necessary
▪ A space classified by the employer as a permit-
required confined space may be reclassified as
a non-permit confined space under the
following procedures:
 If the permit space poses no actual or
potential atmospheric hazards, and if
all hazards within the space are
eliminated without entry into the
space, it may be reclassified as a non-
permit confined space for as long as
the non-atmospheric hazards remain
eliminated
 If it is necessary to enter the permit
space to eliminate hazards, such entry
must be performed in accordance with
OSHA requirements; If testing and
inspection during that entry
demonstrate that the hazards within
the permit space have been
eliminated, the permit space may be
reclassified as a non-permit confined
space for as long as the hazards remain
eliminated
Remember…
The employer must provide proper training for
all workers who are required to work in permit
spaces and must also keep a record for
inspection by employees and their authorized
representatives.