Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)

Marginal note:Changing facilities

62 Every employer must provide, at each workplace under its control, a changing facility that

• (a) is located adjacent to a washroom;

• (b) is of sufficient size to allow employees to change in and out of work clothing;

• (c) has, for each employee at the workplace who is on rotation, a locker with sufficient capacity to store the employee’s personal clothing while they are working and their work clothing and equipment while they are not working;

• (d) has sufficient capacity to allow for storage of personal protective equipment belonging to off-rotation employees, if there is insufficient storage available to those employees in their sleeping quarters; and

• (e) contains a means of drying wet clothing.

Marginal note:Sleeping quarters

• 63 (1) Every employer must ensure that the sleeping quarters at each workplace under its control contain, for each person assigned to those quarters,

  • (a) a standalone bed or bunk

    • (i) that has inner dimensions of at least 1.98 m by 80 cm,

    • (ii) that is not part of a unit that is more than double-tiered,

    • (iii) whose bottom is at least 30 cm off the floor, if it is a standalone bed or the lower bunk in a double-tiered unit, or approximately midway between the bottom of the lower bunk and the ceiling, if it is the upper bunk in a double-tiered unit,

    • (iv) that is equipped with an access ladder and a suitable barrier to protect against falls, if it is the upper bunk in a double-tiered unit,

    • (v) that can be easily cleaned and disinfected, and

    • (vi) that is supplied with clean and sanitary bedding;

  • (b) a storage area fitted with a locking device to hold the employee’s personal belongings; and

  • (c) a reading lamp.

• Marginal note:Private room and washroom

  (2) Every employer must, to the extent feasible, assign each person at a workplace under its control their own sleeping quarters with direct access to their own washroom containing a shower.

• Marginal note:Alternative

  (3) If compliance with subsection (2) is not feasible, the employer must

  • (a) assign no more than two persons to sleep in the same sleeping quarters at the same time, unless a greater number is approved in advance by the Chief Safety Officer on a short-term basis; and

  • (b) if the workplace is a marine installation or structure used for drilling or production or as a living accommodation, ensure that all persons have direct access from their sleeping quarters to a washroom containing a shower and that no more than two sleeping quarters have direct access to the same washroom.

Marginal note:Dining area

64 Every employer must ensure the provision, at each workplace under its control, of a dining area that is

• (a) of sufficient size to allow individual seating and table space for each employee expected to be using the area at one time;

• (b) separated from any place containing a hazardous substance that may contaminate food, dishes or utensils;

• (c) provided with waste receptacles; and

• (d) maintained in a clean and sanitary condition and in good repair.

Marginal note:Smoking areas

• 65 (1) It is prohibited to smoke or use a vaping device at a workplace other than in an area designated for that purpose by the employer with control over the workplace.

• Marginal note:Designation of areas

  (2) An employer must select any area that it designates as an area in which smoking or the use of a vaping device is permitted having regard to

  • (a) the area’s proximity to fire and explosion hazards; and

  • (b) the need to prevent exposure of other persons at the workplace to emissions — both directly from the product and as exhaled by the user — from smoking or the use of a vaping device.

• Marginal note:Prohibition in vicinity of drilling or production

  (3) It is prohibited to smoke or use a vaping device — even within a designated area — on the deck of a marine installation or structure if drilling or production activities are being carried out in the vicinity.

• Marginal note:Indoor areas

  (4) The employer must ensure, with respect to any indoor area that it designates as an area in which smoking or the use of a vaping device is permitted, that

  • (a) the designated area is maintained under negative pressure with respect to the adjacent area;

  • (b) the designated area is separated from the adjacent area by solid walls, floors and ceilings and solid doors equipped with an automatic closing mechanism; and

  • (c) air transfer into the designated area is maintained at a rate of at least 24 L/s per occupant, regardless of whether the doors are open or closed, and air is not recirculated.

• Marginal note:Signage

  (5) Every employer must ensure that signage is posted outside each entrance to an area in which smoking or the use of a vaping device is permitted, indicating

  • (a) that persons entering the area may be exposed to emissions from smoking or the use of a vaping device; and

  • (b) the area’s maximum occupancy level, as determined with regard to its air transfer rate, if the area is indoors,.

• Marginal note:Designation removed

  (6) If an employer removes the designation of an area as an area in which smoking or the use of a vaping device is permitted, it must ensure that the signage referred to in paragraph (5)(a) remains posted outside each entrance to the area until the area contains no residual contaminants from the smoking or vaping activity.

PART 12Sanitation and Housekeeping

Marginal note:Waste material

66 The risks associated with the accumulation of and exposure to waste material, including garbage, recyclable refuse, food waste and debris, are prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and every employer must ensure, at each workplace under its control, that

• (a) waste material is collected, handled, segregated and removed in a safe and hygienic manner;

• (b) waste receptacles and other facilities for disposing of and storing waste material are provided to prevent its hazardous accumulation; and

• (c) all waste receptacles that are provided in dining and food preparation areas or that are intended to hold waste material that could give rise to a hazard, including waste material that is flammable or combustible, are

  • (i) made of fire-rated material,

  • (ii) leakproof,

  • (iii) fitted with a tight-fitting lid, and

  • (iv) maintained in good working order and in a clean and sanitary condition.

Marginal note:Pests

• 67 (1) The risks associated with the presence of pests are prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and every employer must ensure that the enclosed parts of each workplace under its control are constructed, equipped and maintained in a manner that prevents, to the extent feasible, the entry of pests.

• Marginal note:Elimination of pests

  (2) If pests have entered an enclosed part of the workplace, the employer must immediately take all steps necessary to eliminate the pests and prevent their re-entry.

• Marginal note:Records

  (3) The occupational health and safety program must provide for the keeping of pest control inspection and pesticide application records.

Marginal note:Cleanliness and orderliness

68 The hazard control measures set out in every occupational health and safety program must include procedures for

• (a) maintaining the workplace in a clean and orderly state;

• (b) ensuring that all surfaces at the workplace on which a person may stand are kept free of slipping and tripping hazards; and

• (c) ensuring that all cleaning of the workplace is carried out in a manner that does not allow dust or any other substance that may be harmful to employees’ health or safety to contaminate the air.

Marginal note:Storage

69 Every employer must ensure that all things at each workplace under its control are stored or placed in a manner that does not a present a hazard to the health or safety of any person, including by

• (a) impeding the safe movement of persons, equipment or things through corridors, entrances or exits;

• (b) impeding access to or the use of firefighting, first aid or other emergency equipment;

• (c) interfering with the operation of fixed fire protection equipment;

• (d) impeding access to electrical panels, equipment control panels or emergency disconnect switches or devices;

• (e) obstructing ventilation or illumination;

• (f) exceeding the maximum load-carrying capacity of the thing on which they are stored or placed; or

• (g) being stacked in a manner that makes them unstable.

PART 13Food and Potable Water

Marginal note:Food safety

70 The risks arising from the consumption of unsafe food are, in respect of every workplace at which food is served, prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and the employer with control over the workplace must ensure that

• (a) all preparation, storage, handling or serving of food is done in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s “Recommended International Code of Practice: General Principles of Food Hygiene”, as set out in its publication Food Hygiene (Basic Texts), with the recommendations in the Code being read as mandatory;

• (b) foods that require refrigeration to prevent them from becoming hazardous to health are maintained at a temperature of 4°C or lower;

• (c) foods that require freezing to prevent them from becoming hazardous to health are maintained at a temperature of -18°C or lower; and

• (d) temperature logs are maintained for hot and cold holding units, including refrigerators and freezers.

Marginal note:Potable water

• 71 (1) Every employer must provide, to all persons at each workplace under its control, potable water for drinking and food preparation and must ensure that clean and sanitary cups are provided for drinking water that is not provided from a drinking fountain.

• Marginal note:Occupational health and safety program

  (2) The risks associated with the consumption of non-potable water are prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and every occupational health and safety program must

  • (a) provide for on-site oversight by a competent person of the daily operation of the system by which potable water is provided;

  • (b) require notification of the workplace committee or coordinator, as the case may be, of any samples taken from that system that fail to meet the requirements for potable water;

  • (c) set out procedures for addressing any failures of the system to provide water that meets the requirements for potable water; and

  • (d) address the keeping of records relating to the system, its oversight and its performance.

• Marginal note:Definition of potable water

  (3) In this section, potable water means water that conforms to the Department of Health’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.

PART 14Lighting

Marginal note:Non-application

72 This Part does not apply to the lighting of the bridge of a mobile offshore drilling unit or the bridge of any ship used for construction, production or diving or for geotechnical or seismic work.

Marginal note:Minimum levels

73 Every employer must, in respect of each workplace under its control, ensure that

• (a) all persons at the workplace have sufficient lighting — in terms of both quantity and quality — to perform all of their tasks safely; and

• (b) if the workplace is a marine installation or structure, the average level of lighting at a work position or in an area referred to in column 1 of the following table is not less than that set out in column 2 when the workplace’s primary lighting system is operational.

  Item	Column 1	Column 2
  	Work Position or Area	Minimum Average Level (in lx)
  1	Office areas:
  	(a) work positions at which cartography, drafting, plan reading or other tasks requiring high visual precision are performed	800
  	(b) work positions at which business machines are operated or prolonged reading or writing tasks are performed	500
  	(c) other areas	50
  2	Laboratories:
  	(a) work positions at which instruments are read or hazardous substances are handled, if errors in such reading or handling may be hazardous to the health or safety of an employee	800
  	(b) work positions at which close or prolonged attention is given to laboratory work	500
  	(c) other areas	50
  3	Workshops and garages:
  	(a) work positions at which fine or medium bench, machine or repair work is performed	500
  	(b) work positions at which rough bench, machine or repair work is performed	300
  	(c) other areas	50
  4	Process areas:
  	(a) work positions in major control rooms or rooms with dial displays at which tasks essential to the control of equipment or machinery that may be hazardous to the safety of employees are performed	800
  	(b) work positions at which a hazardous substance is used, stored or handled	500
  	(c) work positions at which gauges and meters that are not self-illuminating are located	50
  	(d) other areas	20
  5	Loading platforms and warehouses:
  	(a) work positions at which packages or goods are checked or sorted	150
  	(b) work positions at which loading or unloading work is frequently performed	100
  6	Storage areas:
  	(a) areas in which there is a high level of activity	50
  	(b) other areas	20
  7	Derricks, drill floors and moon pools:
  	(a) work positions at which there is a high level of activity	100
  	(b) other areas	20
  8	Entrances, exits, elevators, corridors, aisles and stairways:
  	(a) areas in which there is a high level of activity or where there is a high frequency of traffic	100
  	(b) other areas	50
  9	Medical rooms:
  	(a) work positions at which first aid or medical care is rendered or examinations are conducted or at which other tasks essential to the health or safety of an employee are performed	1000
  	(b) other areas	500
  10	Food preparation areas:
  	(a) work positions at which prolonged cutting or preparation tasks are performed	1000
  	(b) other areas	300
  11	Dining areas and recreation areas	200
  12	Sleeping quarters	100
  13	Washrooms and showers	200
  14	Boiler, engine, ballast control and generator rooms	200
  15	Rooms in which principal heating, ventilation or air-conditioning equipment is installed	70
  16	Emergency shower facilities, emergency equipment locations, muster stations, temporary refuge areas and lifeboat and life raft locations	50