Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

11.05 (1) The employer must ensure that no person is granted access to a hazardous confined space unless the employer has first appointed a qualified person to

• (a) verify, by means of tests and continuous monitoring, that if the atmosphere inside the hazardous confined space could be of concern, compliance with the following requirements can be achieved during the period of time that the person is in the space:

  • (i) the concentration of any chemical agent or combination of chemical agents in the hazardous confined space to which the person is likely to be exposed will not exceed

    • (A) the value referred to in paragraph 10.19(1)(a) for that chemical agent or combination of chemical agents, or

    • (B) the percentage set out in subsection 10.20(1), or in subsection 10.20(2) under the circumstances described in that subsection for that chemical agent or combination of chemical agents,

  • (ii) the concentration of any airborne hazardous substance, other than a chemical agent, that a person may be exposed to in the hazardous confined space is not hazardous to the health or safety of the person, and

  • (iii) the percentage of oxygen in the air in the hazardous confined space is not less than 19.5% by volume and not more than 23% by volume, at normal atmospheric pressure;

• (b) verify that the following conditions are met, or if that is not feasible, that safety measures have been taken, including the use of engineering controls, to ensure the safety of the person who will be in the hazardous confined space:

  • (i) any liquid in which the person could drown has been removed from the hazardous confined space,

  • (ii) any free-flowing solid in which the person could become entrapped has been removed from the hazardous confined space, and

  • (iii) the hazardous confined space is secured to prevent entry of hazardous materials and contaminants; and

• (c) verify that

  • (i) all electrical and mechanical equipment that could present a hazard to the person has been disconnected from its power source, real or residual, and has been locked out,

  • (ii) the opening for entry into and exit from the hazardous confined space is sufficient to allow the safe passage of a person using protection equipment, including the protection equipment and emergency equipment to be used by a person who takes part in a rescue of a person, and

  • (iii) subject to subsection 11.06(1), the requirements set out in paragraph (a) can be complied with at all times when a person is in the hazardous confined space.

(2) The employer must ensure that the qualified person makes certain that any equipment used to test the atmosphere inside a hazardous confined space is used, calibrated and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

(3) The employer must ensure that the qualified person sets out the results of verifications carried out in accordance with subsection (1) in a signed and dated report to the employer that specifies the test methods applied, the results of the tests and of the continuous monitoring, the test equipment used and any failure of the test equipment, control devices or systems.

(4) The employer must

• (a) if the report made under subsection (3) indicates that a person who has entered the hazardous confined space was in danger, send the report to the policy committee, if any, and to the work place committee or the health and safety representative;

• (b) in all other cases, make the report available, in paper or electronic format, to the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, to the work place committee or the health and safety representative.