The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division has fined a Portland environmental and emergency services company $118,800 for violating job safety standards designed to protect workers from the potentially deadly hazards of confined spaces

Eugene, OR – According to the state officials, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division cited River City Environmental following an inspection of an incident reported to it by Portland Fire & Rescue.

A confined space is one that meets all the following conditions:

• It is large enough and so configured that an employee can fully enter the space and perform work.
• It has limited or restricted means for entry, exit, or both.
• It is not designed for continuous human occupancy.

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division’s inspection of the July 14, 2023, incident found that two members of a four-person crew employed by River City Environmental became unconscious due to the atmospheric conditions inside a stormwater sewer system.

The crew had been tasked with working on filters inside the system located at a brewing company.