Re: Actions to be taken when the employers continue their business at the workplaces as a special case in the deliberate evacuation area

A deliberate evacuation area has been established pursuant to the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. Recently, a notice of the “Continued business as a special case in the deliberate evacuation area” (Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, 17 May 2011) was issued. According to the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, the employers who intend to continue businesses at the workplaces in the deliberate evacuation area as a special case are required to keep the ambient dose rate in the buildings basically sufficiently below 3.8 μSv/h, to control radiation exposure doses of workers individually, and to provide them with a good work environment. Described below are the points to be noted in order to prevent radiation hazards to the workers who will be engaged in the work in the said workplaces. It is expected that nothing goes amiss in the supervision of the relevant employers.

It should be noted that the same content of this notice was sent to the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture as per Annex-2.

1. The employers shall implement the requirements 1 to 8 defined in the notice of the “Requirements that municipalities should meet in the case that the employers intend to continue their business in the deliberate evacuation area as a special case” (Annex of the notice from the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, 17 May 2011; Annex-1 in this notice, and hereinafter referred to as “Requirements”).
    
   
2. For No. 5 in the “Requirements”, the measured radiation exposure doses should be recorded every day and the records should be kept appropriately. Upon a request from the workers, they should be notified of their cumulative radiation exposure dose.
    
   
3. The Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters has provided an instruction to ensure that sufficient information including knowledge about radiation, risk information, radiation effects on health and so on should be provided to the employers and the workers through seminars or other means. The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau is required to give assistance as appropriate to ensure that the seminars include subjects about risk of radiation exposure, and performance and handling of dosimeters and personal protective equipment such as masks.
    
   

Requirements that the municipalities should meet in case that the employers intend to continue their business in the deliberate evacuation area as a special case

<Matters related to workplaces>

1. Workplaces authorized as a special case in the deliberate evacuation shall meet the following requirements:-
   1. Ambient dose rate around the area shall not significantly exceed 3.8 μSv/h.
   2. With radiation shielding capability equivalent to that of reinforced concrete.
   3. Ambient dose rate inside the building including the vicinities of windows or doors, etc. shall be sufficiently less than 3.8 μSv/h.

<Matters related to employers>

2. The employers should strive to minimize radiation exposure dose of workers.
3. The employers should control radiation exposure dose of their workers not exceed 20 mSv in the immediate one year period (in addition, the radiation exposure dose to female workers must not exceed 5 mSv per three months after the deliberate evacuation was implemented).
4. The employers must not engage such female workers who are pregnant or get pregnant to the workplace in the deliberate evacuation area.
5. The employers must provide personal dosimeters to a representative of several workers (such as a working group leader) or to all workers and make sure that they wear those dosimeters. The employers must also record the radiation exposure dose of each worker every day and report the cumulative radiation exposure dose for each worker from the time of accident once in a month to the municipality where they belong to ¹.
6. The employers must let their workers commute to the workplace by vehicles.
7. The employers must observe the following points to maintain appropriate working environment.
1. Instruct workers so that outdoor work can be minimized.
2. Make sure that windows are closed under dusty climate.
3. Provide less dusty working environment that allows smoking, eating and drinking, etc.
4. Provide instructions to have medical examination on a regular basis.
5. Minimize staying time at the work places as practically as possible.
8. The employers must make their workers observe the following points.
1. Encourage workers to propose any means not to bring contamination into the workplace, such as exchanging their shoes for inside and outside of the building.
2. Ware mask, cap and gloves etc. in case of outdoor works in order to prevent inhalation of radioactive materials and contamination with radioactive materials.
3. Wash face and hands and gargle before entering the office and leaving for their home.
9. The employers must provide sufficient information including knowledge about radiation, level of radiation at their workplace, risk information and so on to their workers before getting a consent in writing about working at the said workplace.

<Matters related to workers>

10. A female worker must inform her employer immediately of the fact that she is pregnant or has gotten pregnant.

<Matters related to municipalities>

11. The municipalities should support the employers to take any measures so that their workers will receive minimum radiation exposure dose. Also municipalities should provide instructions to the employers to control appropriately radiation exposure dose of their workers.
12. The municipalities shall report to prefectural and national governments immediately whenever the employers submit radiation exposure dose record of their workers to the municipalities.
13. The municipalities should request the employers to report on the matters inquired, or visit the sites or make on-site inspection at the workplaces in order to verify that their exposure dose control for workers is proper.
14. In case that the radiation exposure dose of workers in the immediate one year period is expected to exceed 20 mSv, the municipalities can make an order to the employer to take any necessary measures to reduce radiation exposure dose of the said workers.
15. In case that the radiation exposure dose of the workers in the immediate one year period exceeded 20 mSv, the municipalities should make an order to the employer to suspend its business.
16. In case that female workers received exposure dose more than 5 mSv per three months after the deliberate evacuation, the municipalities can make an order to the employer to suspend its works.
17. In case that improper management of workers’ radiation exposure dose is found, the municipalities can make an order to the employer to improve its management system or to suspend its business.

Re: Actions to be taken when the employers continue their business at the workplaces as a special case in the deliberate evacuation area

We appreciate to your continuing support and cooperation for the industrial safety and health administration.

With regard to the topic above, a notice of the “requirements that municipalities should meet in case that the employers intend to continue their business in the deliberate evacuation area as a special case” (Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, 17 May 2011) was issued per Annex-1. In response to the notice, the notice of Occupational Safety and Health Department Notification No.0524-1(Annex-2) was sent to Director, Fukushima Prefecture Labour Bureau, in order to prevent health impairment by radiation for of the workers engaged in the work at the workplaces within the deliberate evacuation area.

Please make known those measures in the notice to all the municipalities within your prefecture. Thank you.