Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JULY 22, 2020 Page 2 Continued on page 4 ADA Compliance 30 Years On…continued from page 1 Researching this article has been eye-opening. We learned that most operators do not always feel confident in situations related to providing portable sanitation equipment in compliance with the ADA. And though we talked to several seasoned portable sanitation professionals, for a variety of reasons, no one wanted to go on record regarding their practices. No one wants to call attention to their firm in this area or be accountable for "bad advice" to others. So no names are used in this article, though the stories are a very real reflection of what is happening in our industry with respect to ADA compliance. Background The ADA is a complex law covering many aspects of equality for people with disabilities. Because it is a federal statute, states, counties, and municipalities can make more stringent rules than the ADA, but they cannot relax the requirements. Interpretations of the law can vary as well, and the more active the disability community is in a given area, the more likely you will hear about issues related to the ADA. For obvious reasons, professionals in the portable sanitation industry are most focused on ADA requirements for restroom facilities and access to them. No matter how willing we are to comply with the law, many times, we are left with questions. Generally, they boil down to: Are we doing everything that we can, within the constraints of our equipment, our experience, and the physical layout of where this equipment is placed, to be in compliance with ADA requirements? Most portable sanitation providers are well aware that they often face several dilemmas in providing ADA- compliant services: • what customers want and will pay for, • what the disability community perceives about the equipment, whether our equipment-as-designed is ADA-compliant or can be modified to be compliant, and • whether there is adequate ROI in the company's market for stocking up on ADA-compliant equipment or it is better to let some opportunities go to a competitor. In sorting this out, portable sanitation company leaders also face the ongoing possibility that a customer, an inspector, or a municipality could complain, warn, fine, or even bring a legal court case against their company or their customer. Correction Inside the July 8, 2020 issue of Association Insight, in our story "A Worldly Perspective on Deodorizers and Odor Control," we describe a product (GLO:BLOCK) offered by Global Fliegenschmidt GmbH as a urinal block. That depiction was incorrect. Although the word "block" is used in the English name, the product adheres to the wall of a portable restroom rather than being placed in a urinal. Its purpose is to neutralize odors throughout the restroom cabin, and it uses essential oils to counteract unpleasant odors at a molecular level. These molecules are changed through a chemical interaction, called odor-pairing or encapsulation, into a new molecular form that either no longer carries an unpleasant scent or that is not volatile enough to be perceived. The PSAI regrets the error. v Credit: ADA National Network (adata.org) George H.W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act into law July 26, 1990.

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