HHSRS Hazard 17 - Personal Hygiene, Sanitation, Drainage

Hazard 17 - Personal Hygiene, Sanitation, Drainage

This hazard covers threats of infection and threats to mental health associated with personal hygiene, including personal washing and clothes washing facilities, sanitation and drainage. It does not include problems with pests associated with defective drainage facilities.

The greatest risks appear to arise from the sharing of facilities and personal hygiene behaviour, rather than from the design and condition of facilities provided. However, where there are deficiencies with the facilities themselves, this clearly can increase the risk from this hazard.

Vulnerable Group: Children under 5 years

Defects & Justifications

• Bath or showers - lack of sufficient and/or appropriately sited baths or showers for the number of occupants or potential occupants.
• Wash-hand basins - lack of sufficient and/or appropriately sited wash hand basins for the number of occupants or potential occupants.
• Hot and cold water supply - inadequate supplies of hot and cold water (or water at a controlled temperature) to each bath, shower and wash hand basin.
• Kitchen sink - the lack of a sink for each household with separate supplies of cold and hot water.
• Clothes drying facilities - the lack of sufficient and/or appropriately sited facilities in the dwelling or building.
• Disrepair to facilities - disrepair or defects to, or associated with, a bath, shower, wash hand basin, hot or cold water supply, sink or clothes drying facility.
• Inadequate lighting - to the room containing the personal washing facilities.
• Shared facilities - personal hygiene facilities shared by more than one household.
• Sewage system - none or an obsolete means for the sanitary collection and removal of human excreta from the dwelling.
• Sanitary provision - insufficient numbers of sanitary closets (whether water, composting or chemical) for the numbers in occupation.
• Sanitary closet siting - inappropriate or inconvenient location of a sanitary closet.
• Disrepair of sanitary closet - cracked or otherwise non-impervious bowl to a water closet or other sanitary appliance.
• Water to wc - inadequate supply of water to the flushing cistern serving a water closet.
• Effective flush - defective mechanism to a flushing cistern serving a water closet.
• Macerator defects - defective mechanism to a water closet.
• Earth closet defects - ineffective means of supplying deodorising earth or similar material to an earth closet.
• Seat/lid to sanitary closet - missing or non-impervious seat and/or lid to a sanitary closet basin.
• Ventilation to compartment - inadequate ventilation to the compartment or room housing a sanitary closet.
• Unhygienic compartment - defective design, construction and/or maintenance of the surfaces to the walls and floor of the compartment resulting in them not being capable of being kept clean and hygienic.
• Inadequate lighting - to the compartment or room containing a sanitary closet.
• Door to compartment - missing or defective door to the compartment.
• Adjacent wash hand basin - lack of a wash hand basin in the room, compartment or immediately adjacent room.
• Soil and waste pipe provision - the lack of an adequately sized soil or waste pipe connected to a water-using facility able to carry foul or waste water safely to the drainage system.
• Pipe defects - defects to a soil or waste pipe serving a water using facility.
• Traps and water seals - the lack or disrepair of a trap and water seal.
• Ventilation of pipes - inadequate ventilation to a soil or waste pipe.
• Disrepair to system - defects to the foul or waste water drainage systems.
• Private sewage system - missing or defective private foul sewage treatment system or private foul sewage storage cistern.
• Soakaway - missing, defective or badly located soakaway for surface water.
• Surface water drainage - inadequate or defective drainage.
• Recycling system - defects to greywater or rainwater recycling system.

Index of HHSRS Hazards