18 AAC 34.085. Toilet and handwash sinks requirements

(a) The number of toilets and associated handwash sinks in a shore-based facility must comply with the state plumbing code as required by 18 AAC 34.075. The number of toilets on a mobile processing vessel must comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's general environmental controls in 29 C.F.R. 1910.141(c)(1)(i) and Table J-1, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 34.010. Toilet rooms must be conveniently located for employee use and furnished with toilet tissue. Toilet rooms must have an adequate number of handwash sinks with hot and cold running water, and must be furnished with sanitary hand towels or another drying device. Each toilet and handwash sink must be kept in a sanitary condition and in good repair.

(b) The door to a toilet room must be self-closing and may not open directly into a processing, storage, or other area containing seafood products, food ingredients, food-contact surfaces, or packaging materials unless means have been taken to prevent airborne contamination, including a double door or installation of an exhaust system that vents air from the toilet room to the outside of the facility.

(c) A sign must be posted in each toilet room directing employees to wash their hands with soap or detergent before returning to work stations. The signs must be printed in English and in other languages or pictures if necessary for employee understanding.

(d) Shore-based facilities without septic systems may have portable toilets or privies if

(1) each toilet and privy meets the applicable requirements of 18 AAC 72;

(2) each toilet and privy is conveniently located for employee use;

(3) each toilet and privy is maintained in a sanitary manner and toilet tissue is provided;

(4) a handwash sink, soap, and towels are located at the entrance to the processing area; and

(5) handwash signs described in (c) of this section are posted at each toilet or privy and at the entrance to the processing area.

(e) A facility that is under construction or is being extensively remodeled on December 18, 1997, or that is built or extensively remodeled after December 18, 1997, must have handwash sinks in or immediately adjacent to processing areas. A facility in existence on December 18, 1997, that operates at any time on or after that date is, until extensively remodeled, not required to install handwash sinks on the processing areas, but must provide hand sanitizers in the processing areas. A processor may meet the hand sanitizer requirement of this subsection by having in the processing areas hand sanitizers containing a sanitizing solution that complies with the manufacturer's instructions for hand sanitizers or that meets the concentration levels described in 18 AAC 34.070(b) (2)(A), (b)(2)(B), or (b)(2)(C).

(f) A handwash sink required under this section must have hot and cold water under pressure. Hot water must be supplied at a temperature of 109УИ - 120УИ Fahrenheit. Self-dispensing or metering faucets must provide a flow of water for at least 10 seconds. Hand-cleaning soap or detergent must be provided at each sink. Towel service or drying devices are not required for sinks in a processing area. If towels are provided, towel disposal containers must be provided.

History: Eff. 12/18/97, Register 144; am/readopt 12/2/99, Register 152

Authority: AS 17.20.005

Editor's note: Effective 12/2/99, Register 152, the Department of Environmental Conservation readopted 18 AAC 34.085, to affirm the validity of that section following statutory amendments made in ch. 72, SLA 1998. The department also amended 18 AAC 34.085(a) . Chapter 72, SLA 1998 relocated department authority to adopt regulations in 18 AAC 34 from AS 03.05 to AS 17.20.

Information about how to review or obtain a copy of a requirement referred to in 18 AAC 34.085 and adopted by reference in 18 AAC 34.010 is set out in the editor's note to 18 AAC 34.010.

The Alaska Administrative Code was automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, but neither Touch N' Go Systems nor the Law Offices of James B. Gottstein can be held responsible for any possible errors. This version of the Alaska Administrative Code is current through June, 2006.

If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Administrative Code be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. Recent editions of the Alaska Administrative Journal may be obtained from the Alaska Lieutenant Governor's Office on the world wide web. If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful. Copyright 2006. Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.