OSHA Crawl Spaces and Attics Confined Spaces

Fact sheet on many confined space hazards associated with crawl spaces and attics and how employers can protect their workers.

Confined spaces can present conditions that are immediately dangerous to workers if not properly identified, evaluated, tested, and controlled. This  fact sheet highlights many of the confined space hazards associated with crawl spaces and attics and how employers can protect their workers in these environments.

OSHA has developed a new construction standard for Confined Spaces (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA) — any space that meets the following three criteria:

• Is large enough for a worker to enter it;
• Has limited means of entry or exit; and
• Is not designed for continuous occupancy.

A space may also be a permit-required confined space if it has a hazardous atmosphere, the potential for engulfment or suffocation, a layout that might trap a worker through converging walls or a sloped floor, or…