Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Finland (Ratification: 1978)

Referring to its observation under the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

1. Article 7, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of the Convention. The Committee notes that section 37 of the Radiation Act sets the lower age limit for employment in radiation work at 18 years, but allows a younger person to take part in radiation work if such work is found to be necessary for training purposes. It also notes the Government's indication in its report that the Decree on the Protection of Young Employees (508/86) as amended in 1993 (1428/93) still provides that persons under 18 years of age are not allowed to work in jobs where they would be exposed to dangerous ionizing radiations. The Government has not, however, indicated the levels of maximum permissible doses of ionizing radiation fixed in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention for workers under the age of 18 taking part in radiation work for training purposes, nor any provision prohibiting in absolute terms the participation of workers under the age of 16 in work involving ionizing radiation, even for training purposes (Article 7, paragraph 2). The Committee notes from Instruction 3.1 of the Radiation Safety Guide (ST Guide) 1.2, issued by the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK) and appended to the Government's report, that STUK will give individual instructions for the dose limits for 16-18 year old persons in professional training, and that the maximum values given in section 5 of the Radiation Decree for persons other than those engaged in radiation work shall be applied to persons younger than 16 years. It appears, however, that the instructions given in the ST Guides are not absolutely binding.

The Government is requested to indicate in its next report the measures taken to ensure the observance of Article 7, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of the Convention. In this connection, the Committee draws attention also to the dose limits for apprentices and students of age 16 to 18 set in Annex II, paragraph II.6 of the 1994 International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against ionizing Radiation, jointly sponsored by the IAEA, the ILO, the WHO and three other international organizations and based on the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP.

2. Accident situations.

(a) The Committee notes that under section 7 of the Radiation Decree, "radiation exposure due to measures taken in an accident situation in order to restrict the radiation hazard and bring the radiation source under control" shall not be taken into account in applying the maximum values for radiation exposure under sections 3 to 6.

According to section 7 of the Decree,

Measures needed to restrict the radiation hazard and bring the radiation source under control in an accident situation shall be taken in such a way that the radiation exposure due to the situation is kept as slow as possible. As far as possible, the measures referred to ... shall be taken in such a way that the effective dose of a person participating in them does not exceed 0.5 Sv and the dose at any point on the skin does not exceed 5 Sv.

Referring to the explanations given in paragraphs 16 to 27 and 35(c)(iii) of its 1992 general observation under the Convention, as well as paragraph 225 of the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP, the Committee considers that the terms "as far as possible" used in section 7, paragraph 2, of the Decree introduce a relative flexibility that is acceptable only for life-saving actions; moreover, the terms "measures needed to restrict the radiation hazard" do not appear to be clearly limited to the emergency phase of an intervention, as distinguished from recovery operations such as decontamination of the site. The Committee hopes that the Government will re-examine sections 7 and 8, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Radiation Decree, in the light also of paragraphs 233 and 236 of the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation, referred to in point 1 above, and that it will indicate the measures taken or envisaged to further restrict the exceptional exposure of workers.

(b) The Committee notes that under section 8, paragraph 3, of the Radiation Decree, "A pregnant woman shall not be ordered to take part in measures causing exposure to radiation referred to in this section"; it would thus appear that other workers may be ordered to take part in such measures. Referring to paragraph 234 of the above-mentioned International Basic Safety Standards, the Committee hopes that the Government will adopt provisions to ensure that workers who undertake actions in which the dose may exceed the maximum single-year dose limit shall be volunteers and shall be clearly and comprehensively informed in advance of the health risk involved, and that it will report on the measures taken to this end.

3. The provision of alternative employment. In its observation under the Convention, the Committee has noted with satisfaction the adoption of legislative provisions under which a pregnant woman working in conditions in which the development of the foetus may be endangered by ionizing radiation must if possible, be assigned other suitable work, unless the source of the risk can be eliminated from the work or working conditions. The Committee notes from the Government's report that no similar provisions exist for providing alternative work opportunities not involving exposure to ionizing radiation for workers whose exposure has exceeded the set maximum value. Referring to the explanations given in paragraphs 28 to 33 of its 1992 general observation and the principle reflected in paragraph 96 of the above-mentioned International Basic Safety Standards, the Committee hopes that the Government will re-examine the situation with a view to adopting appropriate measures to ensure effective protection of workers who have accumulated exposure beyond which an unacceptable risk of detriment is to occur and who may thus be faced with the dilemma that protecting their health means losing their employment, and that the Government will report on the measures taken.

4. Referring to point 2 of its observation under the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to supply with its next report information on the measures taken to keep track of outside workers employed by nuclear power plants, their periods of such employment, levels of exposure to ionizing radiation and health status, including any available statistics.