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Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities and Procedures

WAC 296-800-230

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Summary

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

 

Note

Note:

Some industries may have additional rules on bathrooms and washing facilities. For example:

Industry WAC
Agriculture; Indoor Sanitation and Temporary Labor Camps WAC 296-307
Carcinogens; General Regulated Area Requirements WAC 296-62-07308
Charter Boats WAC 296-115-050
Compressed Air Work WAC 296-36-160(5)
Construction WAC 296-155-140
Temporary Labor Camps WAC 296-833

 

Rules

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.

Definition

Definition:

Potable water is water that you can safely drink that meets specific safety standards prescribed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations, published in 40 CFR Part 141, and 40 CFR 147.2400.

  • 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

Note:

As long as the nonpotable water is free of substances that could create unsafe conditions, the water can be used for cleaning both:

 

Reference:

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

Illustration of water faucet marked as non-potable water

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

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

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

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

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

 

Exemption

Note:

You don't have to provide a separate lunchroom if it is convenient for employees to leave the workplace to eat and drink.

WAC 296-800-23065

Provide showers when required for employees working with chemicals

You must:

  • 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.
Exemption

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.
 

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