Permit-Required Confined Spaces

Many workplaces contain spaces that are considered to be
“confined” because their configurations hinder the activities of
employees who must enter into, work in or exit from them. In many
instances, employees who work in confined spaces also face
increased risk of exposure to serious physical injury from hazards
such as entrapment, engulfment and hazardous atmospheric
conditions. Confinement itself may pose entrapment hazards and
work in confined spaces may keep employees closer to hazards
such as machinery components than they would be otherwise. For
example, confinement, limited access and restricted airflow can
result in hazardous conditions that would not normally arise in an
open workplace.

The terms “permit-required confined space” and “permit space”
refer to spaces that meet OSHA’s definition of a “confined space”
and contain health or safety hazards. For this reason, OSHA
requires workers to have a permit to enter these spaces. Throughout
this publication, the term “permit space” will be used to
describe a “permit-required confined space.”