LEE: TAKE EXTRA CARE WHEN WORKING IN CONFINED SPACE

Borneo Post Online, 10 May 2013

RISKY: Employee working in a confined space.

SIBU: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam
Thye has reminded workers working in a confined space to be very careful.
He said that industry experience had indicated that the three most common causes of accidents in
confined space were oxygen deficiency, toxic gases and flammable gases.
What is of utmost concern is to safeguard the safety and health of workers from any form of
injury, illness or death arising from exposure to these hazards.
Hence, it is imperative that the Industrial Code of Practice for Safe Working in a Confine Space
be stringently complied with, he said when contacted yesterday.

According to Lee, a confined space generally referred to a space having relatively small volume
with unfavourable natural ventilation and one into which infrequent or irregular entry is made for
purpose of maintenance, repair and/or cleaning.
Some examples of confined spaces are storage tanks, tankers, boilers, silos and other tank-like
compartment usually having a manhole for entry, pits or degreaser, pipes, sewers, tunnels, shafts,
ducts and any shipboard spaces entered through a small manhole, cargo tank, cellular double
bottom tanks, ducts keel, ballasts and oil tanks.
Lee said this when asked to respond to the news report where a crewman died from inhaling
poisonous gases while drawing water from the bottom of a barge berthed near Stabau Road here
on Tuesday.
In the language of occupational safety and health, he regarded the tragic incident as death while
working in a confined space.
A similar fatal incident was recorded last year where an Indonesian man died after inhaling
poisonous gas while cleaning a barge here.
Employers need to engage only competent workers certified by Department of Occupational
Safety and Health (DOSH) to work in confined spaces to prevent accidents and fatalities.
Persons trained for Authorised Entrance into confined space, and Authorized Gas Tester (AGT)
also known as entry supervisor for confined space work.
AGT detects oxygen deficiency or enrichment, toxic and flammable gases in hot work
environment and confined spaces.
AGT would test the air before entry and monitor the air during the procedure. Lee explained
that the confined space entry programme included among others hazard identification, risk
assessment, risk control, permit system, standby person, employee training, equipment and
external hazard protection.
The employers should formulate a confined space entry programme if his employees were
required to enter and work in a confined space.