CATEC training : Certificate of Ability to Work in Confined Spaces

Confined spaces are present in many sectors of activity and many employees are concerned. The majority of accidents, often serious or even lethal, which occur during interventions in these environments are linked to an oxygen deficient atmosphere, to the presence of toxic gases or vapors or even to an explosion or a fire. These are therefore the first risks to be assessed when developing a work procedure: 

• Anoxia or asphyxia: temporary or permanent absence of oxygen that can lead to death 
• Intoxication: intoxication is characterized by the inhalation or absorption of a toxic gas or product that can cause death 
• Explosion and fire: the presence of gas or dust can create risks of fire and explosion 

In addition, in the treatment of drinking water and sanitation, there are other serious risks such as falls or drowning.

The R.447 recommendation adopted by the National Technical Committee of Transport, Water, Gas and Electricity, during its meeting of June 25, 2009, which deals with the prevention of accidents during work in confined spaces, emphasizes the "need to train personnel in the prevention of damage and health risks, according to similar prevention and intervention organization schemes". 

The CATEC® training system: Certificate of Ability to Work in Confined Spaces in the drinking water and sanitation sector, is composed on one side of a reference system of competences on the basis of which the training will be built and provided, and on the other side of a system responding to the need to qualify the competences acquired during the training course. 

This system provides the company manager with : 

• Markers enabling it to deliver the authorizations necessary to carry out interventions in confined spaces (basically in the field of drinking water and sanitation) ; 
• Assistance for the implementation of personnel training, which is mandatory ; 
• The list of training organizations authorized to provide CATEC® training. 

It is divided into two types of training to best meet the expectations of operators with a shared base and a specificity for each category, the workers and supervisors:

The CATEC® intervener certification validates the skills, knowledge, and users' know-how in confined spaces. The main objectives of this training are as follows:

• To master the procedures before any intervention
• Identify the specific risks related to the characteristics of confined spaces
• To know how to use safety equipment such as portable multi-gas detectors (the 4-gas detector in this case), self-rescue masks, fall arrest harnesses associated with ancillary equipment (safety tripods, fall arresters, safety lanyards, etc.), air extraction fans and to know how to check their proper functioning
• Master the procedures for evacuating the confined space

The CATEC® supervisor certification includes the entire basic foundation of the CATEC® training. It validates the skills, knowledge, and know-how required to perform the role of supervisor:

• Ensure a constant presence and maintenance of the conditions of the intervention until the team members are brought back up.
• To master the alert and rescue procedures.

In order to ensure the health and safety of workers required to work in a confined space, the employer must establish a procedure for this type of work. This procedure will define, at a minimum, the work organization specifically adapted to these interventions, the instructions to be followed and the safety precautions and equipment to be implemented. This procedure can be adapted and completed according to the specificities of the work sites. 

A minimum level of equipment is required to work in confined spaces, including the most common (non-exhaustive list):

This is the ultimate multigas detector and the model most commonly used in drinking water treatment, sanitation, public works, and confined space interventions. The 4-gas detector simultaneously detects explosive gases (natural gas, LPG, hydrocarbons, alcohols and solvents), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (or rather the lack of oxygen).

Self-rescuing masks are self-contained breathing apparatus for emergency evacuation in non-breathable, oxygen-deficient or extremely toxic environments. They are closed-circuit emergency escape devices (ICES). This means that exhaled air is filtered and supplemented with oxygen via a small cylinder of pure oxygen (compressed oxygen self-rescue mask) or a cartridge of potassium superoxide KO2 (chemical oxygen self-rescue mask).
They are particularly required in case of lack of oxygen, or when the concentration of a pollutant is too high to be filtered efficiently, such as very high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. It is the device of choice for emergency evacuations in confined spaces.

In extreme cases and emergency situations, SCBAs are also part of the toolbox for confined space workers. In contrast to self-rescue masks, they can be used for on-site intervention or for help and rescue operations. 

They are composed of three essential and indivisible elements that form a whole: a harness, a complete mask and a compressed air cylinder. They have an autonomy of up to 70 minutes for those equipped with a 9-liter compressed air cylinder at 300 bars (based on a consumption of 40 l/min.).

Confined spaces are not exempt from the risks of falling from heights and fall protection equipment is a necessary addition to the list of CATEC PPE. To ensure the smooth running of interventions in water treatment and sanitation, it is often useful to have a tripod, a basic anchor point for the safety harness of the worker when entering wells or manholes. 

Other fall protection equipment completes the panoply of workers, such as fall arrest systems, automatic return reels, connection and energy absorption systems, life lines, etc.

In the presence of important sources of pollution (air poor in oxygen, significant presence of toxic, asphyxiating or explosive gases), the choice of sanitation technique of the confined space is the dilution by the use of fans / air extractors. This technique can be achieved in two ways:

• Ventilation: To dilute toxic gases and vapors and provide clean and healthy air throughout the intervention of the people in charge of the intervention;
• Extraction: to evacuate dust, fumes and toxic gases from the confined space. However, it is important to choose an ATEX extractor when there is a potential risk of explosion (very high concentrations of dust or flammable gases).

It should be noted that if the fresh air ventilation solution allows to sanitize a larger area than the stale air extraction solution, it can however contribute to move the pollutants to a clean area.

Other personal protective equipment not mentioned above are also essential, such as clothing adapted to the working conditions, protective helmets with individual lighting and means of communication. In addition to this PPE, marking equipment for work on public roads and protective devices around open manholes are essential for safe work.