That is a pretty thorough start but can you do the the work from outside? Water jets or similar? I would also consider ventilation and lighting, in view of what the nature of the 'air' inside might be like. Perhaps personal monitoring for gases. What do you think the risks are? Is it asphyxiation or slipping and personal injury? Do you have a better way to access if a rescue is required? Perhaps some kind of platform?

do you do the work with the main back door raised possible so means of stopping this coming down in case a pipe fails. I would have thought so long as you can get good ventilation in the back whilst carrying out the work and prior too would gases be an issue. as for rescue the second person to raise the alarm then for the person to be removed from the lorry so long as they are not overcome by gases otherwise others would be affected but as said above with ventilation prior and during the work is this likely to be an issue. Possible a mask that would remove any possible fumes might be money better spent than buying gas detectors? Phil

It's an intersting problem with some intersting answers. But you seem to be thinking along the right tracks. I assume you mean that they are working between the compactor plate and the vehicle buulkhead by going through the access hatch? Horizontal escapes can definitely be more tricky than vertical for sure and I don't think that a tripod would be of much help. The golden rule tends to be that you don't go in to rescue them, so I suggest you look at all of the other ways to try and prevevent a rescue being necessary as far as you can. If an entry is required then I suggest openeing the hatch as soon as possible and for as long as possible before the entry and open any others to try and get a cross flow and allow the space to purge. You could use an air mover to help. Then I suggest using a monitor to test the air quality in the space before entry by placing the air monitor in the space at the various places and heights, in particular at the breathing height. If you can get a clear reading then I suggest that an entry would be ok without the need to wear the air monitor or RPE as these can be cumbersome and signifiicanntly degrade performancce. I think that it could well be acceptable to enter the space in these circummstances without all of the 'usal' kit that might normally be used for some confined spaces. It should be a minimum two 'man' job, preferably 3 or at least with a first aiders available. The safety 'man' should maintain contact wit the person in the space - by talking to them! Also consider job rotation if the job is 'long' or the weather conditions, such as at the moment mean the entry is likely to be particiulalry 'strenuous'. You could also use a harness and attach a rope, although I accept that pulling someone with a rope isn't necessarily going to be easy. I suggest that if you purge, purge, purge and monitor before entry to ensure that the space is 'ok' then you shouldn't have too much problem. Other thinsg that strike me are the fact that people put allsorts in the rubbish that end up in the refuse truck, so an electrical equipment, lights etc should be carefully chosen, and think PPE and good hygiene after entry. For confined spaces entry also consider the health of the person entering. bve intersting to see other and/or conflicting views.

Agree with Ron...and if you pick and choose some of the relevant parts you have a pretty good stock of information for your risk assessment. There has been no mention so far of physical isolation which would be required prior to entry and although there may not be the need for continuous monitoring pre entry/periodic may be required. Vehicle workshop operations are also pretty weak on permit to work systems or things like that for hazardous goods vehicle entry although hot work permits are seen in abundance... Hope this helps :)