Section 1545.190  Camp Facilities

a)         Where camp cars, house trailers, outfit or bunk cars, modular units mounted on flat cars, or Pullman and/or passenger cars are furnished for housing or sleeping purposes, a maximum of 4 occupants shall be designated for each car.  A minimum of 80 square feet per occupant shall be afforded in each car.

b)         Adequate first aid kits shall be provided and maintained for employees housed in camp cars for emergency treatment of injured persons.  Each camp car shall contain a permanently wired smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector and a battery backup weather alert radio.  Each camp car shall also include emergency evacuation instructions pertinent to the camp location, along with directions to the closet medical treatment facility. 

c)         Camp cars occupied exclusively by individuals employed for the purpose of maintaining the right-of-way of a railroad shall be located as far as practical from where "switching or humping operations" of "placarded cars" occur, as described in 49 CFR 228.101(c)(3) and (c)(4), respectively.  Every reasonable effort shall be made to locate these camp cars at least one-half mile (2,640 feet) from where the switching or humping occurs.  In the event employees housed in camp cars located closer than one-half mile from where switching or humping of cars takes place are exposed to an unusual hazard at that location, the employees involved should be housed in other suitable accommodations.  An unusual hazard means an unsafe condition created by an occurrence other than normal switching or humping. 

d)         Sleeping quarters are not considered to be free of interruptions caused by noise under the control of the railroad if noise levels attributable to noise sources under the control of the  railroad exceed an Leq (8) value of 55 dB(A), with windows closed and exclusive of cooling, heating and ventilating equipment.

e)          A railroad shall, within 48 hours after notice of noncompliance with these requirements, fix the deficient conditions.  Where holidays or weekends intervene, the railroad shall fix the condition within 8 hours after the employees return to work.  In the event the conditions affect the safety or health of the employees, such as problems with water, cooling, heating, washing, bathing, toilet or eating facilities, the railroad shall provide alternative arrangements for housing and eating until the noncompliant condition is fixed.

f)          A railroad shall, within 2 business days after establishing a labor camp in a community or county, notify the local health department with jurisdiction where the labor camp is located and request and permit a health inspection.  Upon approval of the facilities, the inspecting health department shall issue a permit and collect a fee from the railroad that is sufficient to cover all costs associated with the inspection and processing of the permit.

g)         The employee representatives of each labor craft affected by the establishment of a railroad labor camp shall be notified by the railroad at the same time as the local health department.  The employee representatives shall be permitted to take part in the health inspection and shall be provided with a copy of the inspection report prepared by the local health department.

(Source:  Amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 13802, effective October 1, 2009)