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August 28, 2010

Dangers of Solvents inside confined spaces

The CSB has released an excellent video of 5 deaths occurring in a confined space in a hydroelectric plant in USA. The workers were using MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) , a highly flammable solvent inside a confined space when it caught fire most likely due to static electricity. The CSB report has raised three points:
1.The contractor selected for the job was selected based on the lowest quotation even though his safety record was poor.
2.The current OSHA standard for confined spaces (CFR 1910.146) does not specify what additional precautions must be taken for working in a permit-required confined space with a potential flammable atmosphere, nor does it limit entry based upon measurable criteria such as a specific maximum percentage of the LFL, even though OSHA defines an atmosphere as hazardous when it exceeds 10 percent of the LFL.
3.There was no proper emergency plan for the work conducted
In India, the problems with contractors are numerous. Public sector units are required to go for three quotations and submit the job to the contractor with the lowest quote. This is also followed in some private players. Contractors are not trained adequately on the hazards of confined spaces. I know of at least three similar incidents in India where contractor employees died when flammable solvents caught fire inside a confined space.
See the video and report in this link.

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