Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations

11.4 (1) The employer shall, where a person is about to enter a confined space, appoint a qualified person

• (a) to verify, by means of tests, that compliance with the following specifications can be achieved during the period of time that the person will be in the confined space, namely,

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

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

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

  • (ii) the concentration of airborne hazardous substances, other than chemical agents, in the confined space is not hazardous to the health or safety of the person, and

  • (iii) the percentage of oxygen in the air in the confined space is not less than 18 per cent by volume and not more than 23 per cent by volume, at normal atmospheric pressure;

• (b) to verify that

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

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

  • (iii) the entry of any liquid, free-flowing solid or hazardous substance into the confined space has been prevented by a secure means of disconnection or by the fitting of blank flanges,

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

  • (v) the opening for entry into and exit from the confined space is sufficient to allow the safe passage of a person using protection equipment; and

• (c) subject to subsection 11.5(1), to verify that the specifications set out in paragraph (a) are complied with during all times that a person is in the confined space.

(2) The qualified person referred to in subsection (1) shall, in a signed and dated report to the employer, set out the results of the verification carried out in accordance with that subsection, including the test methods, the test results and a list of the test equipment used.

(3) The employer shall

• (a) where the report made pursuant to subsection (2) indicates that a person who has entered the confined space has been in danger, send the report to the work place committee or the health and safety representative; and

• (b) in all other cases, make a written copy or a machine-readable version of the report available to the work place committee or the health and safety representative.