Cal/OSHA Construction Confined Space Entry

Case Study: At a sheet metal fabrication company, a painter had been assigned to paint the inside of a steel tank. A coworker observed the painter from the top of the tank. The painter stood on the mixing blades that had been built into the inside of the tank to do his work. From above, the coworker had placed a non-explosion-proof halogen lamp over the opening to provide lighting for the painter. Using an airless spray gun, the painter began to spray paint the inside of the tank with an epoxy-based paint, but when the spray gun nozzle hit the lamp, it broke the sealed beam. This ignited the epoxy vapor which caused a flash fire explosion. The painter suffered second- and third-degree burns on his thighs, hands, arms, and chest, and he died from his wounds five days later. The coworker had first- and second-degree burns on his face and neck and broke his arm from falling off the tank in the explosion.

Key Takeaways: The company had no written confined space safety program or any written confined space entry procedures. If there had been a formal program established, the workers might have been aware of the potential fire hazard. With proper education and training, they might have switched the lamp to an explosion-proof lamp instead of a non-explosion-proof one. That simple change might have saved the life of the painter and spared the injuries of the coworker.