Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1970)

I. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report in reply to its previous direct request as well as the adoption of a series of safety guidelines concerning exposure to radiation. The Government is requested to provide further information on the following points:

1. Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government's statement in its report that, while workers' and employers' representatives were not consulted in the drafting and adoption of Decrees Nos. 3306 of 8 March 1979 and 3640 of 19 July 1979, consultation could be considered to be held by the mere fact that these Decrees were based on the provisions of the Convention which was drafted and adopted on a tripartite basis at the highest level of international representation. The Committee would recall, however, that this Article of the Convention specifically provides that, in applying the provisions of the Convention, the competent authority shall consult with representatives of employers and of workers. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the safety guidelines elaborated by the Ecuadorian Commission of Atomic Energy are presently being revised. As several of these guidelines concern the direct application of the provisions of the Convention, the Government is requested to indicate the manner in which representatives of employers and workers are consulted in their elaboration.

2. Article 7, paragraphs 1(b) and 2. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that Regulation 3 of the Regulations on Radiation Safety (No. 3640 of 1979) prohibited the work of persons under 18 years of age in "radiation areas" where the exposure level of radiation doses might be greater than 5 m rem/hr. The Committee noted that this Regulation would not be sufficient for the application of this Article of the Convention as it would appear to permit persons under the age of 18 to be employed in work involving exposure to ionising radiation which could be over 5 rems per year, even if the level of exposure involved would not exceed 5 m rem/hr. It recalled that paragraph 1(b) of Article 7 called for maximum doses of exposure to ionising radiations to be fixed for persons under 18 years in the light of current knowledge (eg., three-tenths of the maximum permissible doses for adults) and that paragraph 2 called for the prohibition of employment of young persons under 16 years of age in all work involving exposure to ionising radiations. According to the definition in the Regulations, however, the non-radiation areas could have levels of radiation as high as 5 rems (50 mSv) per year which is equivalent to the maximum permissible dose for adults under the national regulations.

The Committee notes with interest that section 2.1.1.e. of the Basic Standards for Radiation Protection, issued by the Ecuadorian Commission on Atomic Energy (CEEA) in 1986, provides that persons under 18 years of age shall be categorically prohibited from employment in work with radiation and in "radiation areas", in conformity with Article 7 of the Convention. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to amend Regulation 3 of the Regulations on Radiation Safety in the same manner in order to clarify that persons under 18 years of age shall not be employed in any work involving exposure to ionising radiation.

3. The Committee notes that, under Regulations 117 and 122 and section 2.1.3 of the Basic Standards for Radiation Protection, every person who is accidentally exposed to an excessive dose of radiation has the right to special payments until his or her recuperation and that, if the employer can no longer use the worker's services because of this excessive exposure, the contract will be terminated and special indemnities will be granted, as long as the worker can prove that the excessive exposure was the employer's fault for not maintaining adequate conditions. The Government is referred to paragraphs 28 to 34 of the Committee's General Observation under this Convention and requested to indicate whether any measures have been taken or are envisaged to ensure that alternative employment is provided for workers for whom it is medically inadvisable to continue employment in work involving exposure to ionising radiations.

II. The Committee would call the Government's attention more generally to its General Observation under this Convention which sets forth, inter alia, the revised exposure limits established on the basis of new physiological findings by the International Commission on Radiological Protection in its 1990 Recommendations (Publication No. 60). The Committee would recall that, under Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention, all appropriate steps shall be taken to ensure effective protection of workers against ionising radiations and to review maximum permissible doses of ionising radiations in the light of current knowledge. The Government is requested to indicate the steps taken or being considered in relation to the matters raised in the conclusions to the General Observation.