Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State

Core Rules

Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities and Procedures WAC 296-800-230

For printing

 

Your Responsibility:

To provide safe drinking (potable) water, bathrooms, washing facilities, eating areas and garbage and waste disposal in your workplace

You must:

General requirements for all workplaces

Drinking Water
Provide safe drinking (potable) water in your workplace	WAC 296-800-23005
Clearly mark the water outlets that are not-fit-for-drinking (nonpotable)	WAC 296-800-23010
Make sure that systems delivering not-fit-for-drinking (nonpotable) water prevent backflow into drinking water systems	WAC 296-800-23015
Bathrooms and Washing Facilities
Provide bathrooms for your employees	WAC 296-800-23020
Provide convenient, clean washing facilities	WAC 296-800-23025
Eating Areas and Food Service
Make sure eating areas are safe and healthy	WAC 296-800-23040
Follow these requirements if you provide food service to your employees	WAC 296-800-23045
Garbage and Waste Disposal
Dispose of garbage and waste safely	WAC 296-800-23050
Remove garbage and waste in a way that does not create a health hazard	WAC 296-800-23055
Lunchrooms and Personal Service Rooms
Provide a separate lunchroom if employees are exposed to toxic substances if they are allowed to eat and drink on the job site	WAC 296-800-23060
Provide showers when required for employees working with chemicals	WAC 296-800-23065
Provide change rooms when required	WAC 296-800-23070
Make sure any work clothes you provide are dry	WAC 296-800-23075

 

 

Drinking Water

WAC 296-800-23005

Provide safe drinking (potable) water in your workplace

You must:

(1) Provide safe drinking (potable) water for employees for:

• Washing themselves.
• Personal service rooms.
• Cooking.
• Washing premises where food is prepared or processed.
• Washing food, eating utensils, or clothing.

(2) Make sure when providing movable or portable drinking water dispensers that they are:

• Capable of being closed.
• Kept in sanitary condition.
• Equipped with a tap.

(3) Prohibit employees from:

• Using shared drinking cups or utensils.
• Using open containers such as barrels, pails, and tanks that require employees to dip or pour drinking water, even if the containers have covers.

• Personal service rooms are used for activities not directly connected with a business' production or service function such as first aid, medical services, dressing, showering, bathrooms, washing and eating.

WAC 296-800-23010

Clearly mark the water outlets that are not fit for drinking (nonpotable)

You must:

(1) Mark water outlets that are not fit for drinking (nonpotable), such as those used for industrial processes or firefighting, so they will not be used for:

• Drinking
• Washing themselves, except in emergencies
• Cooking
• Washing food, eating utensils, or clothing.

(2) Prohibit the use of nonpotable water containing substances that could create unsafe conditions such as:

• Concentrations of chemicals, such as lead or chlorine
• Fecal coliform bacteria.

Note: As long as the nonpotable water is free of substances that could create unsafe conditions, the water can be used for cleaning both: Work premises used for activities other than food preparation or processing. AND Personal service rooms, such as bathrooms.

 

Reference: You may need to follow additional requirements for emergency washing facilities. See WAC 296-800-150 First aid, for more information.

WAC 296-800-23015

Make sure that systems delivering not-fit-for-drinking (nonpotable) water prevent backflow into drinking water systems

You must:

• Make sure that systems delivering not-fit-for-drinking (nonpotable) water prevent backflow into drinking water systems.

Bathrooms and Washing Facilities

WAC 296-800-23020

Provide bathrooms for your employees

Exemption: You don't have to provide bathrooms: For mobile crews or at work locations not normally attended by employees, if there is transportation immediately available to nearby bathrooms that meet the requirements of this section.

 

You must:

(1) Provide bathrooms with the appropriate number of toilets for your employees at every workplace based on Table 1.

• Have an appropriate number of toilets for each gender, based on the number of male and female employees at your workplace.
  • - For example, if you have thirty-seven men and seventeen women, you need to have three toilets for the men and two toilets for the women, based on Table 1.
• Make sure each toilet is in a separate compartment with a door and walls or partitions for privacy.

Table 1 Required Number of Employee Toilets at Every Workplace
Maximum Number of Employees Present at Any One Time During a Shift	Minimum Number of Toilets Required
1 to 15	1
16 to 35	2
36 to 55	3
56 to 80	4
81 to 110	5
111 to 150	6
Over 150	One additional toilet for each additional 40 employees

 

Note: A shared bathroom (multiple toilets without enclosures) counts as one toilet no matter how many toilets it contains. In bathrooms used only by men, urinals may be substituted for up to 1/3 of the required toilets.

 

You must:

(2) Provide toilet paper and a toilet paper roll holder for each toilet.

(3) Make sure bathrooms are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

(4) Make sure the sewage disposal method does not endanger the health of employees.

Exemption: Separate bathrooms for men and women are not required if the bathroom: Will only be occupied by one person at a time. Can be locked from the inside. Contains at least one toilet.

 

WAC 296-800-23025

Provide convenient and clean washing facilities

Exemption: You do not have to provide washing facilities for: Mobile crews or work locations not normally attended by employees, if there is immediately available transprotation to nearby washing facilities that meet the requirements of this rule.

You must:

• Provide convenient and clean washing facilities for employees including:
  • - Sinks or basins for personal washing.
  • - Hot and cold water, or lukewarm (tepid), running water in each sink and basin.
  • - Hand soap or similar cleaning agents.
  • - One of the following:
    • Individual paper or cloth hand towels
    • Individual sections of clean continuous cloth toweling
    • Warm air blowers for dyring hands, located near the sinks and basins.

WAC296-800-23040

Make sure eating areas are safe and healthy

You must:

(1) Make sure employees are not allowed to eat and drink in:

• Bathrooms.
• Areas exposed to toxic substances.

(2) Make sure food is not stored in bathrooms or areas exposed to toxic substances.

WAC296-800-23045

Follow these requirements if you provide food service to your employees

You must:

• Make sure all food service facilities and operations you make available follow sound hygiene principles.
• Make sure the food is:
  • - Unspoiled.
  • - Protected from contamination during processing, preparation, handling, and storage.

Garbage and Waste Disposal

WAC 296-800-23050

Dispose of garbage and waste safely

You must:

(1) Make sure garbage containers are:

• Kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
• Made from smooth, corrosion resistant materials.
• Easily cleaned or are disposable.
• Equipped with a solid tight-fitting cover unless you can keep them in a sanitary condition without a cover.

(2) Provide enough garbage containers to make sure they:

• Are conveniently located to encourage their use.
• Won't be overfilled.

WAC 296-800-23055

Remove garbage and waste in a way that does not create a health hazard

You must:

• Remove all sweepings, solid and liquid wastes, refuse, and garbage as often as needed to keep the workplace in a sanitary condition.

Lunchrooms and Personal Service Rooms

WAC 296-800-23060

Provide a separate lunchroom if employees are exposed to toxic substances if they are allowed to eat and drink on the job site

You must:

(1) Provide a lunchroom separate from the work area if employees are exposed to toxic substances.

(2) Use Table 2 to determine the required square footage in your lunchroom based on the number of employees using the room at any one time.

Table 2 Maximum Number of Employees Using Lunchroom at One Time
Number of Persons	Square Feet per Person
25 and less	13
26-74	12
75-149	11
150 and over	10

 

• Provide showers for employees if:

  • - They work with chemicals that could cause an occupational illness;
  • AND
  • - The chemicals remain on the skin between work shifts.
• Make sure employees who work with such chemicals shower at the end of their shifts.
  • - Make sure showers have:
    • Soap or other cleansing agents.
    • Hot and cold water with a common discharge line
  • - Provide individual, clean towels for each employee who is required to shower.
• Provide at least one shower for every ten employees (or every fraction of 10) of each gender.

Note: Table 3 shows the number of showers to provide based on a "fraction of 10".

Table 3
Number of Employees of Each Gender	Number of Showers
1-10	1
11-20	2
21-30	3
31-40	4
41-50	5

WAC 296-800-23070

Provide change rooms when required

You must:

• Provide change rooms when employees are required by a particular standard to wear protective clothing because of the possibility of contamination with toxic materials.
• Make sure change rooms have separate storage facilities for street clothes and protective clothing.

WAC 296-800-23075

Make sure any work clothes you provide are dry

You must:

• Make sure when providing work clothes that the clothing provided is dry if the clothing:
  • - Gets wet during use;
  • - Is washed before it is reused.