Section 296-304-06002. Sanitation.

(1) General requirements.

(a) The employer shall provide adequate and readily accessible sanitation facilities.

(b) The employer shall establish and implement a schedule for servicing, cleaning, and supplying each facility to ensure it is maintained in a clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition.

(2) Potable water. The employer shall provide potable water for all employee health and personal needs and ensure that only potable water is used for these purposes.

(a) The employer shall provide potable drinking water in amounts that are adequate to meet the health and personal needs of each employee.

(b) The employer shall dispense drinking water from a fountain, a covered container with single-use drinking cups stored in a sanitary receptacle, or single-use bottles. The employer shall prohibit the use of shared drinking cups, dippers, and water bottles.

(3) Nonpotable water.

(a) The employer may use nonpotable water for other purposes such as firefighting and cleaning outdoor premises so long as it does not contain chemicals, fecal matter, coliform, or other substances at levels that may create a hazard for employees.

(b) The employer shall clearly mark nonpotable water supplies and outlets as "not safe for health or personal use."

(4) Toilets.

(a) General requirements. The employer shall ensure that sewered and portable toilets:

(i) Provide privacy at all times. When a toilet facility contains more than one toilet, each toilet shall occupy a separate compartment with a door and walls or partitions that are sufficiently high to ensure privacy; and

(ii) Are separate for each sex, except as provided in (a)(ii)(B) of this subsection;

(A) The number of toilets provided for each sex shall be based on the maximum number of employees of that sex present at the worksite at any one time during a workshift. A single occupancy toilet room shall be counted as one toilet regardless of the number of toilets it contains; and

(B) The employer does not have to provide separate toilet facilities for each sex when they will not be occupied by more than one employee at a time, can be locked from the inside, and contain at least one toilet.

(iii) The employer shall establish and implement a schedule to ensure that each sewered and portable toilet is maintained in a clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition.

(b) Minimum number of toilets. The employer shall provide at least the following number of toilets for each sex. Portable toilets that meet the requirements in (c) of this subsection may be included in the minimum number of toilets.

Table F-1

Minimum Number of Toilets

Note to Table F-1: When toilets will only be used by men, urinals may be provided instead of toilets, except that the number of toilets in such cases shall not be reduced to less than two-thirds of the minimum specified.

(c) Portable toilets.

(i) The employer shall provide portable toilets, pursuant to paragraph (4)(b) of this section and Table F-1, only when the employer demonstrates that it is not feasible to provide sewered toilets, or when there is a temporary increase in the number of employees for a short duration of time.

(ii) The employer shall ensure that each portable toilet is vented and equipped, as necessary, with lighting.

(d) Exception for normally unattended worksites and mobile work crews. The requirement to provide toilets does not apply to normally unattended worksites and mobile work crews, provided that the employer ensures that employees have immediately available transportation to readily accessible sanitation facilities that are maintained in a clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition and meet the other requirements of this section.

(5) Handwashing facilities.

(a) The employer shall provide handwashing facilities at or adjacent to each toilet facility.

(b) The employer shall ensure that each handwashing facility:

(i) Is equipped with either hot and cold or lukewarm running water and soap, or with waterless skin-cleansing agents that are capable of disinfecting the skin or neutralizing the contaminants to which the employee may be exposed; and

(ii) If the facility uses soap and water, it is supplied with clean, single-use hand towels stored in a sanitary container and a sanitary means for disposing of them, clean individual sections of continuous cloth toweling, or a hand-drying air blower.

(c) The employer shall inform each employee engaged in the application of paints or coatings or in other operations in which hazardous or toxic substances can be ingested or absorbed about the need for removing surface contaminants from their skin's surface by thoroughly washing their hands and face at the end of the workshift and prior to eating, drinking, or smoking.

(6) Showers.

(a) When showers are required by an OSHA standard, the employer shall provide one shower for each ten, or fraction of ten, employees of each sex who are required to shower during the same workshift.

(b) The employer shall ensure that each shower is equipped with soap, hot and cold water, and clean towels for each employee who uses the shower.

(7) Changing rooms. When an employer provides protective clothing to prevent employee exposure to hazardous or toxic substances, the employer shall provide the following:

(a) Changing rooms that provide privacy for each sex; and

(b) Storage facilities for street clothes, as well as separate storage facilities for protective clothing.

(8) Eating, drinking, and break areas. The employer shall ensure that food, beverages, and tobacco products are not consumed or stored in any area where employees may be exposed to hazardous or toxic substances.

(9) Waste disposal.

(a) The employer shall provide waste receptacles that meet the following requirements:

(i) Each receptacle is constructed of materials that are corrosion resistant, leak-proof, and easily cleaned or disposable;

(ii) Each receptacle is equipped with a solid tight-fitting cover, unless it can be kept in clean, sanitary, and serviceable condition without the use of a cover;

(iii) Receptacles are provided in numbers, sizes, and locations that encourage their use; and

(iv) Each receptacle is emptied as often as necessary to prevent it from overfilling and in a manner that does not create a hazard for employees. Waste receptacles for food shall be emptied at least every day, unless unused.

(b) The employer shall not permit employees to work in the immediate vicinity of uncovered garbage that could endanger their safety and health.

(c) The employer shall ensure that employees working beneath or on the outboard side of a vessel are not contaminated by drainage or waste from overboard discharges.

(10) Vermin control.

(a) To the extent reasonably practicable, the employer shall clean and maintain the workplace in a manner that prevents vermin infestation.

(b) Where vermin are detected, the employer shall implement and maintain an effective vermin-control program.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060, and chapter 49.17 RCW. WSR 12-12-060, § 296-304-06002, filed 6/5/12, effective 8/1/12.]

RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060, and chapter 49.17 RCW. WSR 12-12-060, § 296-304-06002, filed 6/5/12, effective 8/1/12.