Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State

Confined Spaces Chapter 296-809, WAC

Effective Date: 05/01/04

Non-permit Confined Space Requirements WAC 296-809-700

For printing

Your Responsibility:

To make sure any space you classify as non-permit, doesn't have the potential to contain serious health or safety hazards

IMPORTANT:

A confined space may be classified as a non-permit confined space for as long as the hazards remain eliminated. Once a hazard is present, you must follow all requirements of this chapter that apply.

You must

Follow these requirements when classifying a confined space as a non-permit confined space	WAC 296-809-70002
Reevaluate non-permit confined spaces if hazards develop	WAC 296-809-70004

WAC 296-809-70002
Follow these requirements when classifying a confined space as a non-permit confined space

You must

• Make sure the confined space meets these conditions to be classified as non-permit confined spaces:

- The confined space doesn't contain an actual or potential hazardous atmosphere.

- The confined space doesn't contain hazards capable of causing death or serious physical harm. This includes any recognized health or safety hazards including engulfment in solid or liquid material, electrical shock, or moving parts.

- If you must enter to remove hazards, the space must be treated as a permit-required confined space until hazards have been eliminated.

Note: - Controlling atmospheric hazards through forced air ventilation doesn't eliminate the hazards. - You should evaluate the use of lockout-tagout, as covered in chapter 296-803 WAC, to determine if using it fully eliminates the hazard. - You are allowed to use alternate entry procedures covered in WAC 296-809-600, if you can demonstrate that forced air ventilation alone will control all hazards in the space.

You must

• Document how you determined the confined space contained no permit-required confined space hazards. Certify this documentation with the following:

- Date

- Location of the space

- Signature of the person making the determination

- Make the certification available to each entrant, or their authorized representative.

Note: This certification must be completed every time a permit-required confined space is reclassified as a non-permit space.

WAC 296-809-70004
Reevaluate non-permit confined spaces if hazards develop

You must

• Reclassify a non-permit confined space to a permit-required confined space, if necessary, when changes in the use or configuration of the space increase the hazards to entrants.
• Make sure all employees exit the space if hazards develop. You must then reevaluate the space and determine whether it must be reclassified as a permit-required confined space.