On May 4, 2015, OSHA replaced a training-only requirement for confined space work in construction with a more comprehensive standard that includes a permit program and training requirements. The new standard became effective August 3, 2015. On January 6, 2016, OSHA announced that it would not issue citations under the standard to residential construction if the employer is making good faith efforts to comply with the training requirements of the standard.
On a sunny day in Key Largo, Florida, a utility worker removed a manhole cover and descended into a 15-foot-deep drainage hole that was just wide enough to accommodate him, unaware that years of rotting vegetation had filled the hole with a toxic brew of hydrogen sulfide and methane gas and had also left oxygen levels low. When a co-worker stopped hearing sounds from below, he realized that the man was in trouble and quickly followed him into the hole. So did a third worker. None of them wore respiratory protection. Neither did the firefighter who attempted to save the men after arriving on the scene, because an air tank would not have allowed him to fit into the hole. Other firefighters – wearing protective gear – were eventually able to pull the men out of the cramped space. The three utility workers died. The firefighter was hospitalized in critical condition, but survived. Three sheriff’s deputies who were exposed to the dangerous fumes were also taken to a local hospital for treatment.