Definitions

1   In this regulation:

"approved" means approved in writing by a health officer;

"bedroom" includes a structure used solely for the purpose of sleeping;

"common use" means the use of a thing by more than one person without its being thoroughly cleaned and, if applicable, sterilized, after each person's use;

"dwelling" includes an apartment and a housekeeping suite;

"industrial camp" means land or premises on which an employer, in connection with a logging, sawmill, mining, oil or gas operation, a railway construction project, a cannery, or a similar thing, owns, operates or maintains, or has established, permanent or temporary structures for use, with or without charge, by employees as living quarters;

"pest" includes insects;

"sanitary facility" means a structure containing a toilet, washbasin and ancillary equipment and includes a privy, shower or urinal;

"short term industrial camp" means a industrial camp that operates for 5 months or less in any 12-month period.

Prescribed regulated activity

2   The operation of an industrial camp is prescribed as a regulated activity.

Parts 2 and 3 do not apply to small or emergency camps

3   Parts 2 [Construction and Facilities] and 3 [Operation] do not apply to an industrial camp

(a) occupied by fewer than 5 persons, or

(b) established to meet emergency conditions and occupied for a period of not more than 7 days.

Site of industrial camp

4   An operator must ensure the following:

(a) the industrial camp is located such that

(i) good natural drainage is provided, and

(ii) drainage will not contaminate any water supply;

(b) any area on which a structure is erected or that is used for industrial camp activities is well-drained.

Construction of structures

5   (1) A person who establishes or maintains a structure used for living quarters in an industrial camp must ensure that all of the following conditions are met:

(a) floors not built on solid concrete or a rodent-proof foundation have a clearance of at least 30 cm between the surface of the ground and the underside of the floor joists;

(b) the structure is wind and weather proof;

(c) living quarters and bedrooms have heating arrangements that will ensure a temperature of at least 18°C during the season in which the structure is to be occupied;

(d) living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchens and sanitary facilities have adequate artificial or natural lighting;

(e) the floors and walls of rooms used for living, sleeping or eating are of a smooth, easily cleanable finish and are kept clean.

(2) Subsection (1) (d) does not apply to temporary tents used for industrial camp purposes.

Ventilation

6   An operator must ensure that rooms are sufficiently ventilated to prevent the accumulation of condensation and disagreeable odours.

Pests

7   (1) An operator must ensure that each structure is constructed and maintained so as to exclude pests.

(2) An operator who becomes aware of the presence of pests must take adequate steps to exterminate the pests and keep the premises free of them.

Dwellings

8   A person who constructs a dwelling in an industrial camp must ensure that the following conditions are met:

(a) the dwelling has at least a living room and a kitchen;

(b) the living room has a net floor area of at least 11 m²;

(c) the kitchen has a net floor area of at least 7 m²;

(d) the bedroom has a net floor area of at least 9 m².

Overcrowding

9   (1) An operator, tenant or occupier of a dwelling in an industrial camp must ensure that the dwelling is not overcrowded.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), a dwelling is overcrowded if

(a) 2 persons, 10 years of age or older, of opposite sex and not married or cohabiting, are required to sleep in the same room, or

(b) the number of persons sleeping in the dwelling is more than that permitted under Schedule 1.

Bedrooms in industrial camps generally

10   (1) This section does not apply to operators of short term industrial camps.

(2) An operator must ensure that bedrooms are constructed as follows:

(a) each bedroom, other than a bedroom in a factory-constructed trailer, used to accommodate 2 or more persons has

(i) a net floor area of at least 9 m² and a cubic air space of at least 21.5 m³, and

(ii) if there are more than 2 persons, an additional net floor area of at least 5.5 m² and an additional cubic air space of at least 13.5 m³ for each additional person;

(b) each bedroom in a factory-constructed trailer has, for each person, a net floor area of at least 4.5 m² and a cubic air space of at least 9.5 m³;

(c) each employee has a separate bed that is not part of a system or arrangement of double deck or multiple tier bunks.

(3) An operator must ensure that

(a) suitcases and other articles are not stored under beds unless the bed has built in drawers, and

(b) clothes are not dried in bedrooms.

(4) An operator must ensure that

(a) all mattresses, sheets, pillows, pillow cases, blankets and bed covers are kept in a sanitary condition,

(b) clean, laundered sheets and pillow cases are supplied to each employee on arrival and at least once each week after arriving, and

(c) employees do not use their own blankets in a bedroom.

Bedrooms in short term industrial camps

11   (1) An operator of a short term industrial camp must ensure that each bedroom has

(a) an unobstructed clearance of at least

(i) 0.6 m between beds, and

(ii) 1.0 m between each bed and the ceiling, and

(b) individual dry storage space for personal possessions and clothes for each employee using the bedroom.

(2) An operator of a short term industrial camp must ensure that

(a) clothes are not dried in a bedroom, and

(b) all mattresses, sheets, pillow cases, blankets and bed covers are kept in a sanitary condition.

Sanitary facilities

12   An operator must ensure that all of the following requirements are met:

(a) an industrial camp has the minimum number of fixtures required under Schedule 2;

(b) a building containing rooms used for sleeping, eating or other living purposes must not have toilets other than water flush toilets;

(c) water flush toilets must be connected to a public sewerage system or to a properly designed and constructed septic tank and ground absorption system;

(d) toilets must be located no more than 30 m from any bedroom;

(e) sanitary facility floors must be constructed of concrete, wood or other suitable material and finished with a smooth, watertight surface;

(f) sanitary facilities must be ventilated to the outside air,

(g) sanitary facilities must be maintained in a sanitary condition;

(h) toilets other than water flush toilets must be constructed and maintained such that

(i) pests and small domestic animals cannot access waste materials,

(ii) surface or ground water cannot enter the pit or vault,

(iii) waste material cannot contaminate a water supply, and

(iv) self-closing seat covers are in operation at all times;

(i) a sanitary privy, chemical closet or frost-proof closet must not be installed within

(i) any building used for human occupancy, or

(ii) 3 m of any dwelling.

Separate toilets

13   (1) If more than one toilet or bathing unit is installed in a single room, other than a private dwelling unit, an operator must restrict the use of the room to persons of the same sex.

(2) If separate sanitary facilities are provided for each sex, an operator must ensure that each sanitary facility is

(a) closed by full-sized doors, and

(b) clearly and properly marked.

(3) An operator may provide urinals for use only in sanitary facilities provided for the exclusive use of males.

Washing, bathing and laundry facilities

14   (1) An operator must provide a room or building with hot and cold water for washing, bathing and laundering purposes.

(2) An operator must not permit towels, including roller towels, to be in common use.

Dry room

15   If more than 10 persons are ordinarily resident in an industrial camp, an operator must provide sufficient accommodation in a separate room or building to enable employees to dry and change their work clothes conveniently.

Supervision and maintenance

16   (1) An operator must ensure that each industrial camp is under continuous supervision.

(2) An operator must do all of the following:

(a) maintain in good repair all appliances and sanitary facilities in the industrial camp;

(b) maintain the industrial camp and its equipment in a sanitary condition;

(c) post a copy of this regulation in a prominent place in the industrial camp.

Water supply, quality and source

17   (1) An operator must provide, at all times, an adequate supply of safe water for drinking and domestic purposes.

(2) If a safe public water supply is not available, an operator must obtain water from an approved source.

(3) An operator must not use a well as a source of water unless the water obtained from it is free from contamination.

Water storage containers

18   (1) An operator must ensure that, if water to be used for any purpose is transported, the water container is

(a) adequately covered, and

(b) used only to carry water.

(2) An operator must ensure that all drinking water storage containers in an industrial camp are

(a) securely closed,

(b) arranged so that water can be drawn only from a tap, and

(c) maintained clean and free from contamination.

Dispensing water

19   An operator must ensure that

(a) drinking cups are not in common use,

(b) drinking water is not dipped from open springs, wells or water containers, and

(c) drinking fountains are of an approved angle jet type.

Cross connections

20   If a water supply unfit for drinking purposes is used for fire protection or industrial purposes, an operator must ensure that

(a) there is no physical connection between that supply and any approved drinking water supply, and

(b) warning signs are posted at all outlets of the non-drinkable supply.

Sewage disposal

21   An operator must ensure that sewage in an industrial camp is disposed of in an approved manner that does not

(a) create a health hazard or nuisance,

(b) contaminate any stream, lake or other body of water, or

(c) contaminate a shellfish growing area.

Garbage disposal

22   (1) An operator must do all of the following:

(a) provide at an industrial camp pest-tight garbage containers in a convenient location and in ample number;

(b) maintain garbage containers so that they do not become foul-smelling, unsightly or a breeding place for pests;

(c) prevent the industrial camp from being littered with garbage or other waste;

(d) dispose of all garbage and other waste by burial, incineration or an approved method.

(2) A person at an industrial camp must not dispose of garbage or other waste except in accordance with arrangements made by the operator.

Duty to report illness

23   An operator must notify a medical health officer within 24 hours after it comes to the attention of the operator that there is an outbreak or occurrence of illness, above the incident level that is normally expected, at an industrial camp.

Abandoned industrial camps

24   If an industrial camp is to be abandoned, the operator must leave the grounds and buildings in a sanitary condition.