Measures for occupational safety and health management will be enhanced at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
- A guideline was formulated -
Last year the number of occupational injury and diseases increased significantly at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and a fatal accident occurred in January and in March this year. The number of workers at the plant per day has doubled from that of one year ago; increasing from approximately 3,500 to 7,000. Though the monthly average exposure dose has tended to decrease, the numbers of workers whose exposure dose has exceeded 5 mSv remain unchanged, and total exposure dose of all workers is still high.
Under such a situation, the Inter-Ministerial Council for Contaminated Water and Decommissioning Issues revised the Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on 12 June 2015. The revision included: (1) Strengthening the occupational safety and health management system undertaken by TEPCO and the primary contractors together; (2) Implementation of risk assessment by TEPCO, the primary contractors and their subcontractors; and (3) Taking exposure dose reduction measures from the stage of placing orders.
In order to implement these actions effectively and efficiently, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare formulated the “Guidelines on occupational safety and health management at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.”
This guideline summarizes transparently actions to be conducted by TEPCO and the primary contractors according to the subjects shown below in taking measures for occupational safety and health management toward decommissioning of the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
< Major points of the guideline >
- Establishment of a system for occupational safety and health management undertaken by TEPCO and the primary contractors.
- Selecting a general health and safety manager, etc. and holding safety and health coordinating meetings by TEPCO
- Providing instructions to, and support of, relevant subcontractors by the primary contractors
- Implementation of risk assessment and measures to be taken for enhancement of safety and health education based on the results.
- Implementing a risk assessment (identifying dangers or hazards caused by the works, estimating occupational injury and diseases that may be caused by them, and considering measures to reduce the risks) and taking measures to reduce the possibility of occupational injury and diseases based on the results
- Enhancing education of new workers or operation leaders
- Consideration and implementation of effective exposure dose reduction measures from the stage of placing orders.
- Preparing an “Exposure dose reduction specification” by TEPCO for radiation works that may cause one man-sievert of total exposure dose for all workers, and preparing a “Dose control plan” by the primary contractors, etc. and submitting it to the Director of the Labour Standard Inspection Office
- Healthcare measures, etc.
- Providing health guidance based on medical examination results, establishing an emergency medical system, taking heat stroke measures and long-term healthcare measures, improving the work environment, etc.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will instruct TEPCO and the primary contractors in order for the measures specified in the guideline to be taken appropriately.
Attachment
- Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant PDF 201KB
- Attachments 1-4 PDF 129KB
- Formulation of the “Guidelines on occupational safety and health management at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant” PDF 427KB
