Apartments for public use

As a health protection authority, Imatra's regional environmental department monitors that public spaces or other similar living spaces do not cause health hazards. The public spaces and lounges mentioned above are, for example, daycare centers, schools, educational institutions, accommodation facilities, sports facilities, children's and youth club facilities, swimming pools, public saunas and beauty salons.

Most apartments intended for general use and their commissioning require a commissioning notification to the health protection authority. The health protection authority processes and checks the notification and sends a certificate of receipt of the notification to the person making the notification. If the reported activity can affect the living environment, the health protection authority will consult those who may be affected to the necessary extent. There is a charge for processing the notification.

The inspection of the apartment is carried out according to the risk assessment within one year of the preparation of the certificate.

The conditions of apartments and other living spaces must be such that they do not cause health harm to the users. This sets requirements for, for example, indoor air quality, noise, vibration, smell, temperature, dust, radiation, presence of microbes or pests. The person causing the harm is obliged to remove the harm or limit the amount of harm. Inspections related to the investigation of health hazards are carried out at the request of users and customers and as a planned control.

Notification forms

Environmental healthcare control plan

Self-monitoring in health protection

The Health Protection Act (763/1994) obliges the operator to identify the risk factors that cause health harm in his activities and to organize the activity in such a way that health harms are prevented as far as possible.

According to Section 2 of the Health Protection Act, the operator has an obligation to identify the health risks of his operations, to take measures to control the risks and to monitor the factors affecting them, and to prevent the occurrence of health hazards as far as possible. The operator is required to conduct regular self-monitoring and procedures to manage health risks. Identifying and monitoring risks has a preventive effect on the occurrence of health hazards.

It is recommended to draw up a written self-monitoring plan so that it can be read by everyone, accessible and utilized in the maintenance and development of operations. A written self-monitoring plan is a good tool, for example, for training staff. The format of the self-monitoring plan is free.

The health protection authority supervises the factors affecting the health conditions of the notifiable activities. The authority evaluates the effectiveness of self-monitoring and how the operator fulfills its duty of care. The operator may be asked to present how the risks affecting the operation have been identified, how their severity has been assessed and which risk management measures the operator has adopted.

 Self-monitoring instruction