Chapter 19 Confined spaces

Confined spaces fatalities and injuries reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 and 2013 are a relatively infrequent occurrence in recent years. Of the 133 fatal injuries on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) list for 2013–2014, the HSE reports that a number occurred as a result of incidents in confined space incidents (HSE, 2015). The University of Glasgow (2005) has estimated that 15 people are killed annually in confined space accidents in the UK, and HSE figures over the period since the introduction of the Confined Spaces Regulations (The Confined Spaces Regulations, 1997) confirm that multiple fatalities each year are not uncommon. In the 1990s, being the period when the current confined spaces legislation was being considered and drafted, fatalities and injuries in confined spaces were more frequent, albeit still at lower rates than other types of accidents in all industries.