Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Poland (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of Order No. 124 of 31 March 1988 issued by the President of the State Atomic Agency concerning limit doses of ionising radiations and indicators determining the risk connected with ionising radiation which ensures the application of Article 6 of the Convention. In particular, the Committee appreciates the information provided by the Government concerning limits of exposure for workers called to intervene in abnormal situations, in response to the questions raised in its general observation of 1987.

In the general observation, governments were requested to indicate the measures taken concerning abnormal situations where the level of exposure to ionising radiations exceeds the normal annual level fixed by law. It was pointed out that there are two phases to an abnormal situation. The first phase is when emergency measures are necessary in order to save human life or avoid a substantial increase in the scale of the incident. Neither the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) nor the ILO Code of Practice on Radiation Protection (ionising radiations) fix an exposure limit for this first phase of intervention. In this regard, the Committee notes with interest that section 8.2 of Order No. 124 endeavours to ensure protection beyond a certain level of exposure by providing that rescue workers intervening in abnormal situations to save human life or substantially limit the exposure of other persons shall be protected from doses exceeding 50 rems for the entire body and 300 rems for individual tissues or organs.

As concerns the second phase of an abnormal situation, although the ICRP and the ILO recommend that remedial measures be taken while maintaining compliance with permissible annual dose limits (50 mSv or 5 rems), it is also noted that in special circumstances certain essential operations may need to be carried out when the level of exposure to ionising radiations is still beyond the fixed limits. It is recommended, however, that workers intervening in this second phase should not be exposed to a dose greater than five times the permissible annual dose limit in a lifetime (i.e. 250 mSv or 25 rems). In this regard, the Committee notes that section 8.1 of Order No. 124 provides that workers who intervene in the second phase of one or more emergency situations shall not be exposed in the course of a lifetime to a level of ionising radiations exceeding five times the normal annual limit dose prescribed (the annual limit dose being fixed at 50 mSv (5 rems)).

The Government is requested to continue supplying information on any other measures taken or envisaged concerning the procedures to be followed in abnormal situations.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.