API St 2217A-2009 pdf free download

API St 2217A-2009 pdf free download.Guidelines for Safe Work in Inert Confined Spaces in the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries.
3.2 entry supervisor The person responsible for determining if acceptable entry conditions are present at a confined space where entry is planned, for authorizing entry, overseeing entry operations, and for terminating entry. The duties of entry supervisor may be passed from one individual to another during the course of an entry operation. These responsibilities also may be transferred between the owner and contractors. 3.3 fit testing The process of evaluating a respirator’s sealing characteristics for a specific user and the respirator’s performance for the user under controlled conditions. For inert entry, fit testing of respiratory protection equipment shall include the specific equipment which will be used for entry as described in 7.2 n). 3.4 hazard A situation or inherent chemical or physical property with the potential to do harm (flammability, oxygen deficiency, toxicity, corrosivity, stored electrical, chemical or mechanical energy). 3.5 hazardous atmosphere An atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self rescue, injury, or acute illness from oxygen deficiency or enrichment; flammability or explosion potential; or toxicity [as set forth in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146(b)]. 3.6 hot zone The area around the entrance to the inerted confined space most likely to be affected by effluent gases; sometimes called the “restricted area.” 3.7 immediately dangerous to life or health IDLH The traditional NIOSH definition for published IDLH values is the maximum concentration of an air contaminant from which one could escape within 30 minutes without a respirator and without experiencing any escape-impairing or irreversible health effects. Total loss of respiratory protection in an inert atmosphere can cause virtually immediate impairment and result in rapid asphyxiation. While inert atmospheres are indeed “IDLH” by NIOSH criteria, the hazard is much more immediate and severe.
3.8 inert entry Entry into a confined space with an inert atmosphere starts as soon as any part of the entrant’s body breaks the plane of an opening into the space and triggers the need for rescue capability. “Entry” includes all subsequent activities in the inert confined space. 3.9 inerting The process of eliminating the potential for a flammable atmosphere by using an inert gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide to displace oxygen required for ignition. 3.10 lower flammable limit LFL The minimum concentration of a vapor in air (or other oxidant) below which propagation of flame does not occur on contact with an ignition source. The LFL is usually expressed as a volume percentage of the vapor in air. Sometimes called lower explosive limit (LEL). In popular terms, a mixture containing a percentage of flammable vapor below the LFL is too “lean” to burn. 3.11 material safety datasheet MSDS Written or printed material concerning a hazardous chemical and prepared in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200, ANSI Z400.1 or comparable international standard. An MSDS provides data on physical properties, safety, fire, and health hazards for a particular chemical, mixture or substance. 3.12 oxygen-deficient atmosphere An atmosphere in which the oxygen content is below that needed for normal human function without impairment. For inert entry, the typical oxygen content (below 5 % in inert entry situations) is very much less than the oxygen-deficient definition often used (e.g. by OSHA) of “atmosphere containing less than 19.5 percent oxygen by volume” (the OSHA limit is appropriate for areas outside the “hot zone”). Inert entry requires much lower oxygen concentration percentages to provide a working environment minimizing fire hazards by maintaining the oxygen level low enough to prevent combustion.