Final answer:
A permit required confined space may contain hazards such as dangerous chemicals or fumes, risk of fire or explosions, dangerous gases, poor air quality, and possibilities of collapse. OSHA standards require employers to ensure worker safety by providing training, safety equipment, and emergency procedures.
Step-by-step explanation:
A permit required confined space is a type of work environment that may present various hazards to workers. Such spaces are not designed for continuous employee occupancy and can have limited or restricted means for entry or exit.
These spaces may contain or have the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere, material that can engulf an individual, walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into smaller areas which could trap or asphyxiate an entrant, or contain other serious physical hazards such as unguarded machines or exposed live wires.
Some of the common hazards in these spaces include exposure to dangerous chemicals or fumes, risk of fire or explosions, the presence of dangerous gases, poor air quality, and spaces that can spontaneously collapse. Workers may also encounter biological hazards, such as bacteria and viruses, especially in spaces that have not been properly cleaned or are used to store waste. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, employers need to ensure the safety of workers entering such spaces by providing adequate training, safety equipment like respiratory protection, and emergency procedures.
For example, OSHA may require the use of a safety harness and line or guardrails to prevent falls, guards on machinery, and the implementation of lockout/tagout procedures to ensure machines are properly shut off and can't be started up again before maintenance or repair work is completed. Furthermore, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) hazard diamond is an example of a tool used to summarize the major hazards of a chemical substance, which is particularly relevant in these spaces. Protective suits and air supply systems might also be necessary, particularly when dealing with high-level biohazardous materials in spaces such as BSL-4 laboratories.