California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety › Subchapter 7 - General Industry Safety Orders › Group 16 - Control of Hazardous Substances › Article 108 - Confined Spaces › Appendix E - Sewer System Entry

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
Sewer entry differs in three vital respects from other
						  permit entries; first, there rarely exists any way to completely isolate the
						  space (a section of a continuous system) to be entered; second, because
						  isolation is not complete, the atmosphere may suddenly and unpredictably become
						  lethally hazardous (toxic, flammable or explosive) from causes beyond the
						  control of the entrant or employer, and third, experienced sewer workers are
						  especially knowledgeable in entry and work in their permit spaces because of
						  their frequent entries. Unlike other employments where permit space entry is a
						  rare and exceptional event, sewer workers' usual work environment is a permit
						  space.
(1) Adherence to procedure. The employer should
						  designate as entrants only employees who are thoroughly trained in the
						  employer's sewer entry procedures and who demonstrate that they follow these
						  entry procedures exactly as prescribed when preforming sewer entries.
(2) Atmospheric monitoring. Entrants should be trained
						  in the use of, and be equipped with, atmospheric monitoring equipment which
						  sounds an audible alarm, in addition to its visual readout, whenever one of the
						  following conditions is encountered: oxygen concentration less than 19.5
						  percent; flammable gas or vapor at 10 percent or more of the lower flammable
						  limit (LFL); or hydrogen sulfide or carbon monoxide at or above their
						  permissible exposure limit (PEL) (10 ppm or 25 ppm, respectively, measured as
						  an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA)). Atmospheric monitoring equipment needs
						  to be calibrated according to the manufacturer's instructions. Substance
						  specific devices should be used whenever actual contaminants have been
						  identified. The instrument should be carried and used by the entrant in sewer
						  line work to monitor the atmosphere in the entrant's environment, and in
						  advance of the entrants' direction of movement, to warn the entrant of any
						  deterioration in atmospheric conditions. Where several entrants are working
						  together in the same immediate location, one instrument, used by the lead
						  entrant, is acceptable.
(3) Surge flow and flooding. Sewer crews should develop
						  and maintain liaison, to the extent possible, with the local weather bureau and
						  fire and emergency services in their area so that sewer work may be delayed or
						  interrupted and entrants withdrawn whenever sewer lines might be suddenly
						  flooded by rain or fire suppression activities, or whenever flammable or other
						  hazardous materials are released into sewers during emergencies by industrial
						  or transportation accidents.
(4) Special Equipment. Entry into large bore sewers may
						  require the use of special equipment. Such equipment might include such items
						  as atmosphere monitoring devices with automatic audible alarms, escape
						  self-contained breathing apparatus (ESCBA) with at least 10 minute air supply
						  (or other NIOSH approved self-rescuer), and waterproof flashlights, and may
						  also include boats and rafts, radios and rope stand-offs for pulling around
						  bends and corners as needed.
1. New
						  Appendix E filed 11-24-93; operative 12-24-93 (Register 93, No.
						  48).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (2)
						  filed 8-10-2001 pursuant to section
						  100, title 1, California Code of
						  Regulations (Register 2001, No. 32).
Note: Authority cited: Section
							 142.3, Labor
							 Code. Reference: Section
							 142.3, Labor
							 Code.