Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1968)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s comprehensive report.

2. Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Effective protection of pregnant women and workers against ionizing radiation based on its maximum permissible doses. With reference to its previous comments in respect of the dose limits for pregnant women in category A (radiation workers), the Committee notes that no specific information has been provided by the Government in its latest report concerning measures to revise the dose limit established for pregnant women to ensure an effective protection for the mother and her unborn child. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the indications contained in paragraphs 5.4.4, 4.1.5 and 4.3.1 of the ILO code of practice of 1986 to which the Committee referred in paragraph 13 of its 1992 general observation under the Convention, where it is indicated that the methods of protection at work for pregnant women should provide a standard protection for any unborn child broadly comparable with that provided for members of the general public who are not to be exposed to more than 1 mSv per year. The Committee also refers to its request that the Government specify the standards of radiation safety on which the list of supplementary maximum permissible levels is based and to provide a copy of them for further examination. The mentioned list, supplied by the Government earlier, is based on various standards of radiation safety which make use of different criteria for the determination of maximum permissible dose levels for workers’ exposure to radiation. The Government is also requested to supply a copy of the Law on Protection of Man against the Impact of Ionizing Radiations for further examination. The Committee invites the Government to communicate to it the information requested as well as the legal texts indicated.

3. Article 8. Appropriate level to be fixed for workers not directly engaged in radiation work. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the effective dose for individuals who do not work with a source of ionizing radiation, but who may be exposed to additional radiation because their workplace is situated on premises or on an industrial site where radiological or nuclear technology is used (category B) must not exceed 2 mSv per year. The Committee, once again, draws the Government’s attention to paragraphs 5.4.5 of the ILO’s code of practice of 1986 according to which the annual effective dose equivalent limit for the individual members of the public remains at 1 mSv under the ICRP recommendations. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to set appropriate levels for this category of workers, taking into consideration that the provision of this Article of the Convention raises a particular concern for workers who, while not directly engaged in radiation work and, thus, not necessarily benefiting from monitoring programmes, special medical examination, etc., may remain in, or pass through, areas where they may be exposed to ionizing radiations.

4. Article 9. Instruction requirements to workers engaged in radiation work. The Government again refers in its report (information given under Article 10 of the Convention) to section 3 of the Basic Sanitary Rules of Work with Radioactive Substances and Other Sources of Ionizing Radiations (BSR-72/87) which provides for the training and instruction requirements of workers engaged in radiation work. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to supply a copy of the mentioned rules for further examination.

5. Article 10. Requirement of the notification of work involving exposure of workers to ionizing radiation. As the Government’s latest report does not contain any reply to its previous comments to this issue, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the laws or regulations requiring the notification of work involving exposure of workers to ionizing radiations in the course of their work.

6. Article 12. Nature and periodicity of medical examination. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the requirement in this Article to establish the intervals at which the medical examinations should be carried out. The Government is requested to indicate the frequency of the medical examinations in question as well as their nature.

7. Article 13. Emergency situations. With reference to its previous comments concerning the optimization of the protection of workers during accidents and emergency work, the Committee invites, once again, the Government to continue to supply information on any steps taken or envisaged thereto.

8. Article 14. Alternative employment or other measures offered for maintaining income where continued assignment to work involving exposure to ionizing radiation is medically inadvisable. The Committee notes that the Government’s latest report contains neither information concerning whether alternative employment possibilities have been offered in the past to the workers who participated in the intervention after the accident of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, nor copies of the Sanitary Rules of Work with Radioactive Substances and Other Sources of Ionizing Radiations (BSR-72/87) and the Safety Rules in the Course of Operation of Nuclear Power Plants (RRS NP-89) requested in its earlier comments. The Committee notes that the issue of the provision of alternative employment to workers who have accumulated a lifetime dose of ionizing radiation, well before their retirement, cannot be properly examined without this information. It requests, once again, the Government to communicate the texts of the BSR-72/87 and RRS NP-89 and information concerning measures taken to provide alternative employment to the mentioned workers’ group. In this context, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 32 of the 1992 general observation under the Convention where it is indicated that every effort must be made to provide the workers concerned with suitable alternative employment, or to maintain their income through social security measures or otherwise, where continued assignment to work involving exposure to ionizing radiations is found to be medically inadvisable.

9. Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice in the country including, for example, extracts from inspection reports and information on the number of workers covered by the legislation, disaggregated by sex if possible, the number and nature of contraventions reported, the number and cause of accidents recorded and the measures taken to remedy them, the individual protective equipment allocated to workers, such as dosimeters.