Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

Showers and Shower Rooms

• 9.23 (1) A shower room with a door fitted on the inside with a locking device and at least one shower head for every 10 employees or portion of that number shall be provided for employees who regularly perform strenuous physical work in a high temperature or high humidity or whose bodies may be contaminated by a hazardous substance.

• (2) Every shower receptor shall be constructed and arranged in such a way that water cannot leak through the walls or floors.

• (3) No more than six shower heads shall be served by a single shower drain.

• (4) Where two or more shower heads are served by a shower drain, the floor shall be sloped and the drain so located that water from one head cannot flow over the area that serves another head.

• (5) Except for column showers, where a battery of shower heads is installed, the horizontal distance between two adjacent shower heads shall be at least 750 mm.

• (6) Waterproof finish shall be provided to a height of not less than 1.8 m above the floor in shower rooms and shall consist of ceramic, plastic or metal tile, sheet vinyl, tempered hardboard, laminated thermosetting decorative sheets or linoleum.

• (7) Finished flooring in shower rooms shall consist of resilient flooring, felted-synthetic fibre floor coverings, concrete terrazzo, ceramic tile, mastic or other types of flooring providing similar degrees of water resistance.

• (8) Where duck boards are used in showers, they shall not be made of wood.

• (9) Every shower shall be provided with cold water and hot water that meets the requirements of section 9.18.

• (10) Where an employee referred to in subsection (1) takes a shower as a result of his work, a clean towel and soap or other cleaning agent shall be provided to him.

Potable Water

9.24 Every employer shall provide potable water for drinking, personal washing and food preparation that meets the standards set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality 1978, published by authority of the Minister of National Health and Welfare.

9.25 Where it is necessary to transport water for drinking, personal washing or food preparation, only sanitary portable water containers shall be used.

9.26 Where a portable storage container for drinking water is used,

• (a) the container shall be securely covered and closed;

• (b) the container shall be used only for the purpose of storing potable water;

• (c) the container shall not be stored in a toilet room; and

• (d) the water shall be drawn from the container by

  • (i) a tap,

  • (ii) a ladle used only for the purpose of drawing water from the container, or

  • (iii) any other means that precludes the contamination of the water.

9.27 Except where drinking water is supplied by a drinking fountain, sanitary single-use drinking cups shall be provided.

9.28 Any ice that is added to drinking water or used for the contact refrigeration of foodstuffs shall

• (a) be made from potable water; and

• (b) be so stored and handled as to prevent contamination.

9.29 Where drinking water is supplied by a drinking fountain, the fountain shall meet the standards set out in ARI Standard 1010-82, Standard for Drinking-Fountains and Self-Contained, Mechanically-Refrigerated Drinking-Water Coolers, dated 1982.

Field Accommodation

9.30 All field accommodation shall meet the following standards:

• (a) it shall be located on well-drained ground;

• (b) it shall be so constructed that it can easily be cleaned and disinfected;

• (c) the food preparation area and lunch room shall be separated from the sleeping quarters;

• (d) where a water plumbing system is provided, the system shall operate under sanitary conditions;

• (e) garbage disposal facilities shall be provided to prevent the accumulation of garbage;

• (f) toilet rooms shall be maintained in a sanitary condition; and

• (g) vermin prevention, heating, ventilation and sanitary sewage systems shall be provided.

• 9.31 (1) Living quarters provided

  • (a) in any fixed accommodation shall comprise

    • (i) for a single occupant, a space of at least 18 m³, and

    • (ii) where there is more than one occupant, 18 m³ plus 12 m³ for each additional occupant; and

  • (b) in any mobile accommodation shall comprise

    • (i) for a single occupant, a space of at least 12 m³, and

    • (ii) where there is more than one occupant, 12 m³ plus 8 m³ for each additional occupant.

• (2) The living quarters referred to in subsection (1) shall have no floor dimension that is less than 1.5 m.

• (3) Toilet rooms and locker rooms shall not be counted in the calculation made in accordance with subsection (1).

• 9.32 (1) All mobile accommodation shall meet the standards set out in CSA Standard Z240.2.1-1979, Structural Requirements for Mobile Homes, dated September, 1979, as amended to April, 1984.

• (2) For the purposes of clause 4.12.4 of the Standard referred to in subsection (1), there is no other approved method.

9.33 In any field accommodation provided as sleeping quarters for employees

• (a) a separate bed or bunk shall be provided for each employee;

• (b) the beds or bunks shall not be more than double-tiered and shall be so constructed that they can be cleaned and disinfected;

• (c) mattresses, sheets, pillow cases, blankets and bed covers shall be provided for each employee and kept in a clean and sanitary condition;

• (d) clean laundered sheets and pillow cases shall be provided for each employee at least once each week; and

• (e) at least one shelf and a locker fitted with a locking device shall be provided for each employee.

Preparation, Handling, Storage and Serving of Food

• 9.34 (1) Each food handler shall be instructed and trained in food handling practices that prevent the contamination of food.

• (2) No person who is suffering from a communicable disease shall work as a food handler.

9.35 Where food is served in a work place, the employer shall adopt and implement Section G of the Sanitation Code for Canada’s Foodservice Industry published by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, dated September, 1984, other than items 2 and 11 thereof.

• 9.36 (1) Where foods stored by an employer for consumption by employees require refrigeration to prevent them from becoming hazardous to health, the foods shall be maintained at a temperature of 4°C or lower.

• (2) Where foods stored by an employer for consumption by employees require freezing to prevent them from becoming hazardous to health, the foods shall be maintained at a temperature of -11°C or lower.

9.37 All equipment and utensils that come into contact with food shall be

• (a) designed to be easily cleaned;

• (b) smooth, free from cracks, crevices, pitting or unnecessary indentations; and

• (c) cleaned to maintain their surfaces in a sanitary condition.

9.38 No person shall eat, prepare or store food

• (a) in a place where a hazardous substance may contaminate food, dishes or utensils;

• (b) in a personal service room that contains a toilet, urinal or shower; or

• (c) in any other place where food is likely to be contaminated.

Food Waste and Garbage

• 9.39 (1) No food waste or garbage shall be stored in a food preparation area.

• (2) Food waste and garbage shall be handled and removed from a food preparation area or lunch room in accordance with subsections (3) to (5).

• (3) Wet food waste and garbage shall be

  • (a) disposed of by mechanical grinders or choppers connected to sewage disposal lines; or

  • (b) held in leak-proof, non-absorptive, easily-cleaned containers with tight-fitting covers in a separate enclosed area or container until removal for disposal.

• (4) Dry food waste and garbage shall be removed or incinerated.

• (5) Food waste and garbage containers shall be kept covered and the food waste and garbage removed as frequently as is necessary to prevent unsanitary conditions.

• (6) Food waste and garbage containers shall, each time they are emptied, be cleansed and disinfected in an area separate from the food preparation area.

Lunch Rooms

9.40 Every lunch room provided by the employer

• (a) shall be separated from any place where a hazardous substance may contaminate food, dishes or utensils;

• (b) shall not be used for any purpose that is incompatible with its use as a lunch room;

• (c) shall not have any dimension of less than 2.3 m;

• (d) shall have a minimum floor area of 9 m²;

• (e) shall have 1.1 m² of floor area for each of the employees who normally use the room at any one time;

• (f) shall be furnished with a sufficient number of tables and seats to accommodate adequately the number of employees normally using the lunch room at any one time; and

• (g) shall be provided with non-combustible covered receptacles for the disposal of waste food or other waste material.

Ventilation

• 9.41 (1) Each personal service room and food preparation area shall be ventilated to provide at least two changes of air per hour

  • (a) by mechanical means, where the room is normally used by 10 or more employees at any one time; or

  • (b) by mechanical means or natural ventilation through a window or similar opening, where the room is used by fewer than 10 employees if

    • (i) the window or similar opening is located on an outside wall of the room, and

    • (ii) not less than 0.2 m² of unobstructed ventilation is provided for each of the employees who normally use the room at any one time.

• (2) Where an employer provides ventilation by mechanical means in accordance with paragraph (1)(a), the amount of air provided for a type of room set out in Column I of an item of the schedule to this Part shall be not less than that set out in Column II of that item.

• (3) Where an employer provides for the ventilation of a food preparation area or a lunch room by mechanical means in accordance with paragraph (1)(a), the rate of change of air shall be not less than nine litres per second for each employee who is normally employed in the food preparation area at any one time or for each employee who uses the lunch room at any one time.

• 9.42 (1) Subject to subsection (2), any exhaust system from a personal service room containing a toilet or a shower shall not be connected with any other exhaust or air supply system.

• (2) The exhaust system for a personal service room containing a toilet or shower may be connected with the exhaust duct of another room at the exhaust fan inlet if the system is connected in such a manner that an exchange of air cannot occur between the rooms.

Clothing Storage

9.43 Clothing storage facilities shall be provided by the employer for the storage of overcoats and outer clothes not worn by employees while they are working.

• 9.44 (1) A change room shall be provided by the employer where

  • (a) the nature of the work engaged in by an employee makes it necessary for that employee to change from street clothes to work clothes for health or safety reasons; or

  • (b) an employee is regularly engaged in work in which his work clothing becomes wet or contaminated by a hazardous substance.

• (2) Where wet or contaminated work clothing referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is changed, it shall be stored in such a manner that it does not come in contact with clothing that is not wet or contaminated.

• (3) No employee shall leave the work place wearing clothing contaminated by a hazardous substance.

• (4) Every employer shall supply drying and cleaning facilities for the purpose of drying or cleaning wet or contaminated clothing referred to in paragraph (1)(b).

• (5) In each change room,

  • (a) a floor area of at least 0.4 m² shall be provided for each of the employees who normally use the room at any one time; and

  • (b) where it is necessary for the employees to change footwear, seats shall be provided in sufficient numbers to accommodate them.

9.45 If feasible, the clothing storage facilities referred to in section 9.43 and the change room referred to in section 9.44 shall be located

• (a) near the work place and connected thereto by a completely covered route;

• (b) on a direct route to the entrance to the work place;

• (c) near a shower room provided pursuant to section 9.23; and

• (d) near a toilet room.