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Confined Spaces

Wayne County Airport Authority must communicate our confined space hazards to entrants prior to their work. Please complete the Confined Space Entry Request to begin the process of entering confined spaces at Detroit Metro Airport and Willow Run Airport or complete this form for questions regarding the classification of any of our spaces.

Confined spaces can be very dangerous. Because of their physical construction, confined spaces could be subject to the accumulation of loose materials (engulfment in fluids or during excavations) or explosive, toxic, or flammable contaminants or could have an oxygen deficient atmosphere. Between Detroit Metro Airport and Willow Run Airport, the Wayne County Airport Authority is the host employer for thousands of confined spaces.

According to OSHA, a confined space is a space that:

  • Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work
  • Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit 
    • For example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits
  • Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy

All of the following are examples of confined spaces:

  • Storage tanks

  • Process vessels

  • Boilers

  • Ventilation ducts

  • Sewers

  • Underground utility vaults

  • Tunnels (after construction is completed)

  • Pipelines

  • Open top spaces more than four feet in depth, such as pits, tubs, vaults, and vessels

 

Submit a request for a confined space entry at Detroit Metro or Willow Run Airport. 

This is a requirement for both permit-required and non-permit required confined space entries.