New CSA standard for industrial confined spaces

Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has issued a standard for managing work in confined spaces and for coordinating rescues. Confined spaces are found in almost all industrial facilities in Canada, including hydro vaults, underground tunnels, pump stations, boilers and chemical plants. Workers can become trapped, injured or overcome by toxins, but 60% of fatalities in these spaces are would-be rescuers.
British Columbia alone recorded 18 deaths related to confined spaces entry between 1989 and 2004, five of whom involved people who died trying to rescue victims.
The new standard is CSA Z1006 Management of Work in Confined Spaces. Suzanne Kiraly, president of CSA Standards, announced: “This new CSA standard, the first of its kind in Canada, defines what a confined space is and provides guidelines to managers, workers and rescuers for identifying and avoiding potential risks while not becoming victims themselves.”