The Health & Safety Executive has issued a safety alert on the dangers of telescopic pop-up toilets.
The safety alert follows the death of 60-year-old Kevin Holding in London’s Cambridge Circus in January. Employed by Hi-tech Washroom Solutions Limited, he was doing repair work on a pop-up urinal from a void underneath, when the mechanism lowered, crushing him.
The HSE has this week issued a notice warning of the dangers of a raised pop-up toilet lowering during cleaning, maintenance or inspection activity.
“Duty holders should assess each pop-up toilet to identify risks associated with pop-up toilet chamber access, cleaning and maintenance activities,” the HSE says. “You must reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures.”
A simple solution is using a pit prop, HSE suggests.
Duty holders should make sure that anyone cleaning, maintaining or inspecting pop-up toilets, or anyone fitting or maintaining engineering control measures, have adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions on fitting and using control measures.
For more information see hse.gov.uk.
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