Asphyxiation, definition

Gas chromatography. See Analytical techniques Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994, 595 Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996, 484 Gases, See also Asphyxiants Compressed gases definition, 26... 

The second definition is a subset of the first. A permit-required confined space is a confined space with one or more of the following characteristics contains or may contain a hazardous atmosphere, contains a material with the potential for engulfment of an entrant (such as sawdust, sand, grain, or earth), has an internal configuration or shape such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated, or contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard. 

Definition General term for commercial propane, butane, or mixtures can be liquefied at normal temp, by mod. pressure increase, or at normal pressure by cooling occurs naturally in oil or gas fields or obtained from refining petroleum Properties Colorless odorless (normally odorized for leak detection) vapor pressure 593 kPa (20 C) Toxicoiogy Nontoxic but can cause asphyxiation Precaution Flamm. LFL 2.1 vol.%, UFL 9.2 vol.% (15 C, 101 kPa in air) volatile heavier than air... 

OSHA formal definition of a "hazardous chemical" is any chemical which is classified as a physical or health hazard, or which is a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, pyrophoric gas, or hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC), In other words, any chemical that can hurt you. 

Inhalation of ethane in concentrations in air up to 5 percent produces no definite symptoms, but inhalation of higher concentrations has an anesthetic effect. It can act as a simple asphyxiant by displacing the oxygen in the air. Contact between liquid ethane and skin can cause freezing of the tissue. 

Certain gases (hydrogen, methane, propane etc) are extremely flammable and come within the scope of DSEAR. However the gases themselves can also act as asphyxiants, reducing the quantity of oxygen in the workplace to the extent that life can be put at risk. As a result, they will also satisfy the definition of a substance hazardous to health for the purposes of COSHH. In these circumstances, employers will have duties to control the risks from those substances under both sets of regulations. 

The definition of confined space is very wide and includes any place such as trenches, vats, silos, pits, chambers, sewers, wells or other similar spaces which because of their nature could give rise to a specified risk . Specified risks are defined in Regulation 1. They include injury from fire or explosion loss of consciousness through a rise in body temperature or by asphyxiation drowning or from free-flowing solids causing asphyxiation or preventing escape from a space. 

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