Saint Paul, MN — After investigating recent deaths involving permit-required confined spaces, Minnesota OSHA has adopted a Local Emphasis Program focused on protecting workers in transportation tank cleaning operations.
All three incidents occurred in the past two years. Two involved transportation truck trailers and the other a sanitary sewer hole.
Toxic atmospheres inside transportation tanks can expose workers to risks such as incapacitation, impaired ability to self-rescue and acute illness.
MNOSHA says its program is based on federal OSHA’s Regional Emphasis Program for the Chicago Region, issued in 2021. That program provides outreach, consultation services and training to affected employers as requested in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, along with worksites under federal authority in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota.
“Permit-required confined space entries require the employer to identify and evaluate the hazards of permit spaces before employees enter them,” MNOSHA says. “The employer must then develop and implement the means, procedures and practices necessary for safe permit space entry operations.”
The agency, which operates under federal OSHA’s State Plan program, calls on employers to review their current practices and procedures to help prevent these types of fatalities.
