Dangers In Confined Spaces
Many are the times that we here or see sad news of massive destruction of human life in confined spaces. Despite incidents being on the rise in these places, people have not been able to learn from experience, and thus exposing themselves to the same danger once more. A confined space can be described to have limited space for exit and entry, though the openings are big enough to accommodate a person to go through. Confined space are in numerous forms and shape and include silos, tanks, pits, pipes, tunnels, boilers, quarries to mention but just a few. A number of incidents have happened causing deaths like what happened in Kenya when fire exploded in Nakumatt supermarket and due to limited exit, more than 40 people died due to suffocation (John, 2009).
Due to limited openings, in most cases inner atmosphere offers a threat to human life working/operating within. Many are a times when we hear of deaths occurring in mines, like in 2007, the deaths from mines in South Africa rose to 221 which is a big number. Though technology have advanced enhancing accurate and efficient ways of determining the atmosphere conditions, confined spaces still present a number of challenges which include: – high temperatures, noise pollution, low oxygen amount, difficulty in exit incase of an emergency, poor ventilation, high chances of explosion due to accumulation of flammable vapors, danger of being trapped by machines due to squeezed working space just to mention a few. All these factors are life threatening and calls for thorough understanding of basic principles before entering such places. One needs to know the entry and exit incase of emergency, know whether the atmosphere is tested so as to ascertain you are entering into a safe zone, confirm there is enough oxygen to avoid suffocation and ensure you understand the safety plan and that safety tools are available and in good working condition ( confined space,2008).
In event of an emergency, some people have died in an attempt to rescue their friends in confined spaces. Due to the complexity of exit in such spaces, one therefore needs to adhere to safety procedures as stipulated and follow them to the later. Confined space poses danger to people working in them and should therefore be keen and observant to notice any deviation from the norm, any of their working environments and take such changes seriously by taking the necessary steps.
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