Appendix A
Action Time Line Taken by the MHLW
(From March 2011 to December 2011) [1]
March 11, 2011
The Fukushima Medical University (designated a secondary radiation emergency medical institute) established a nuclear patient receiving system. Fukushima Rosai Hospital (designated a primary radiation emergency medical institute) and Kashima Rosai Hospital establish a receiving and supporting system.
March 14, 2011
A notification was issued to Prefectural Labour Bureaus informing them of the ordinance specifying the increase in the effective dose limit for workers from 100 mSv to 250 mSv in the case of an unavoidable situation requiring emergency response measures to be taken to prevent spread of the nuclear disaster at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Public notification of the relevant ministerial ordinance in the official gazette, 15 March) and its enforcement (on 14 March).
March 16, 2011
In response to the enforcement of the ordinance (14 March), the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau summarized the ordinance and provided an instruction to implement special medical examinations to the affected plant. In addition, THE MHLW summoned the officials in charge at the TEPCO headquarters to explain the instruction to them and request they properly manage the plant.
March 24, 2011
In response to the industrial accident at the affected plant where three workers were exposed to radiation on 24 March, an oral instruction was provided (24 March) from the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau to the affected plant to establish a safety and health control system before resuming the work. An instruction document was also provided by (26 March).
March 30, 2011
The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau received a report on improvements implemented according to the instructions provided by the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau to the affected plant (24 and 26 March). On that occasion, an oral instruction was provided by the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau to the affected plant to implement a thorough measurement of individual doses and control of the dose limit.
April 10, 2011
The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau provided an instruction to employers about special medical examinations to be provided to three workers who were exposed to high radiation on 24 March.
April 25, 2011
The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau provided an order to employers to provide special medical examinations once a month in principle to the workers whose effective dose during the work exceeded 100 mSv and whose working period was longer than one month in addition to the special medical examinations provided after completing the emergency works.
The MHLW provided the TEPCO headquarters with an instruction to implement thorough control of the radiation dose according to the notification issued on 25 April 2011 and requested that any workers, including subcontractors, should be dealt with equally with respect to working conditions after engagement in the emergency works.
April 28, 2011
A notification was sent to the Prefectural Labour Bureaus on matters to be noted when providing instructions about radiation doses to workers who will be engaged in normal radiation works after engagement in the emergency works at the affected plant.
April 30, 2011
The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau provided TEPCO with an oral instruction to survey the workers whose internal dose is likely to be high among the workers engaged in emergency works at the affected plant.
May 2, 2011
On-site inspection at J-village.
May 13, 2011
The MHLW requested TEPCO and others to disseminate the provisions stipulated in the laws that working conditions shall be clearly indicated when recruiting workers, filing offers for posting job offerings, or concluding a labor contract.
May 13, 2011
Based on the results of the on-site inspection at J-village on 2 May, the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau provided TEPCO with instructions again to implement thorough radiation control and special medical examinations and measurement of internal dose. The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau also requested TEPCO to improve the living environment, address physical and mental disorders among workers, and improve measures to prevent heat illness among workers to ensure their good health care.
May 15, 2011
Medical doctors were dispatched from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan to conduct the medical examinations of the workers in the affected plant and TEPCO Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant.
May 20, 2011
To promote actions for health care of workers at the affected plant specified in the “Policy for actions to respond to nuclear disaster victims in the immediate future” (Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, 17 May 2011), the MHLW Office for Promotion of Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was established (renamed as the Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on 8 June 2011).
May 23, 2011
According to the “Policy for actions to respond to nuclear disaster victims in the immediate future”, an instruction was provided to TEPCO to establish a safety and health control system, enhance the radiation control and safety and health education, and submit work plans of certain types of emergency works to the Labour Standards Inspection Office at the affected plant.
May 27, 2011
Based on the direction of the Minister, the MHLW proposed to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency that estimations should be made for the numbers and types of workers with special or advanced techniques required for the emergency works at the affected plant when the emergency works have made progress in accordance with the current roadmap, and the cooperation of such workers should be fostered to address any contingencies.
May 27, 2011
The Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (the MHLW, Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau, Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office) conducted an on-site inspection at the affected plant.
May 29, 2011
To improve a medical care system for workers at the affected plant, the Japan Labour Health and Welfare Organization dispatched medical doctors. A 24-hour coverage medical system with medical doctors was established in cooperation with the currently dispatched medical doctors from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health.
May 30, 2011
Based on the on-site inspection at the affected plant on May 27, the Director of the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau issued a recommendation to TEPCO and others directing them to correct the items in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act pertaining to the radiation exposure of three workers.
May 30, 2011
Given that the internal doses of two workers at the affected plant may exceed 250 mSv, an instruction was given to TEPCO to finalize the assessment of the internal dose of the two workers and promptly implement measurement of the internal dose for all workers engaged in the emergency works.
In response to the report from TEPCO indicating that the doses of two workers at the affected plant might exceed the radiation dose limit of 250 mSv, the Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (the MHLW, Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau) conducted an on-site inspection at the affected plant.
June 10, 2011
To enhance measures to prevent heat illness at the affected plant, an instruction was given to TEPCO to suspend works during the high-temperature period from 2 to 5 p.m. in July and August, with consideration of meeting the work schedule to achieve restoration of the plant.
June 13, 2011
In response to the report from TEPCO indicating that radiation doses of six additional workers among the workers at the affected plant may exceed the dose limit of 250 mSv, an instruction was given to TEPCO to exclude those workers whose dose exceeded the provisional 200 mSv from the emergency works.
June 13, 2011
In response to a report indicating that a worker did not attach a filter on his mask during work at the affected plant on June 13, an instruction was given to TEPCO to reinstruct workers, including subcontractors, regarding how to wear masks properly.
June 14, 2011
An instruction was given to TEPCO not to assign the workers whose internal dose exceeded the provisional 100 mSv to work at the places that were likely to cause internal exposures until the results of the detailed measurement were obtained.
The radiation doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in March were reported by TEPCO. An instruction was given to TEPCO to quickly conduct measurements of internal doses for the workers, including workers with missing contact information, and exclude those workers whose dose exceeded the provisional 200 mSv from the emergency works. The instruction also indicated that the workers whose internal dose exceeded the provisional 100 mSv should not be assigned to work at the places that were likely to cause internal exposures until the results of the detailed measurement were obtained.
June 22, 2011
In response to a report that a worker had removed his mask and was smoking while seated in the operator’s seat of a crane on 15 June at the affected plant, the Director of the Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office issued a recommendation to the relevant contractors to correct items in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act pertaining to prohibition of smoking by workers at workplaces where they could inhale radioactive materials.
June 22, 2011
In relation to violations, such as no filters were attached to the masks of workers who were engaged in the emergency works and that a worker had removed his mask and was smoking, which occurred at the affected plant, an instruction document was also given to TEPCO from the Director of the Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office to provide the relevant contractors with guidance on thoroughly educating workers to prevent such recurrences.
June 27, 2011
An instruction was provided to the primary contractors who are engaged in the emergency works at the affected plant to submit a report on a monthly basis with respect to the following items: the contract system diagram, the description of the involved works, the number of workers at subcontractors, how safety and health education is conducted, and how medical examinations are conducted.
June 30, 2011
To improve the medical care system for workers at the affected plant, the MHLW and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology have supported the dispatch of a new medical team and established a 24-hour coverage medical system with multiple numbers of medical doctors together with existing dispatched medical doctors from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan and Rosai hospitals.
June 30, 2011
An instruction was given to TEPCO to mitigate the situations whereby the measurement and evaluation of radiation dose of the emergency workers at the affected plant tended to be delayed and whereby the responses to correction of the work plans about emergency works were significantly delayed.
July 1, 2011
The Director of the Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office issued a recommendation to the relevant contractors directing them to correct the item in violation in response to a report indicating that a worker left the seismically isolated building without attaching a filter on his face mask.
July 11, 2011
In response to the report from TEPCO that radiation doses of three additional workers among workers at the affected plant exceeded the dose limit of 250 mSv (six workers in total), the Fukushima Branch of the Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau) conducted an on-site inspection at the affected plant.
July 13, 2011
Internal doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in April were reported by TEPCO. The internal dose was not measured in approximately 1300 workers, including 118 workers whose contact information was missing. An instruction was given to TEPCO to implement a thorough search and submit a report again. TEPCO was also advised to establish a system to provide dose records to workers on a daily basis and to enhance safety and health education, including providing workers with an overview of the workers’ accident compensation insurance system.
July 14, 2011
The Director of the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau issued a recommendation to TEPCO directing it to correct the items in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act pertaining to the use of effective respiratory protective equipment.
July 22, 2011
In addition to an instruction to TEPCO, an instruction was provided to 22 primary contractors to investigate the workers whose internal exposures were not measured and evaluated, ensure those workers promptly undergo medical examinations, and establish a safety and health management system that involves the relevant subcontractors.
July 29, 2011
According to the additional report from TEPCO about radiation doses to emergency workers, the internal doses have not been measured for 440 workers among those who were engaged in the emergency works in March and April, including 184 workers whose contact information was missing. An instruction was provided to TEPCO to conduct a thorough search for the missing workers and to submit a report again.
Data items to be included in the database for the long-term health care for the workers at the affected plant and the frameworks of the health care were formulated and issued as an integrated overall design.
August 5, 2011
The Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau presented matters to be noted in implementing the special medical examinations for the emergency workers to the relevant employers and provided instruction on submitting a report describing how the special medical examinations were conducted.
August 10, 2011
Internal doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in May and doses of workers during March and April that had not been previously reported were reported by TEPCO. Contact information was missing for 143 workers. An instruction was given to TEPCO to conduct a thorough search and submit a report again. Since the work plans had not been submitted for the work that caused unexpected exposure, TEPCO was instructed to submit such work plans promptly and to take appropriate measures to reduce dose.
August 30, 2011
The Director of the Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau issued a recommendation to 15 employers, including TEPCO and 6 primary contractors, directing them to correct the items in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act pertaining to measurement of internal dose once within three months to be provided to the workers who were engaged in the emergency works. In addition, a TEPCO board member was summoned to the headquarters the MHLW to explain the details of the recommendation on correction, and he was given a strong warning. Instructions were also given to the headquarters of the primary contractors.
Internal doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in June and radiation doses of the workers during March through May that had not been previously reported were reported by TEPCO. The contact information of 88 workers was missing. An instruction was given to TEPCO to conduct a thorough search and submit a report again.
August 31, 2011
An instruction was given to TEPCO to organize a task group to identify the works associated with high radiation exposure and locations with high ambient dose rates and to study measures to reduce exposure, with the aim of reducing dose limits for emergency workers at the affected plant.
September 15, 2011
Radiation doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in July and from March to June that had not been previously reported were reported by TEPCO. Contact information was missing for 65 workers. An instruction was given to TEPCO to search for the missing workers and to properly implement the dose measurement. In addition, an instruction was also given to TEPCO to investigate the causes of the occurrence of unexpected external exposure and body contamination and to take actions to prevent their recurrence.
September 26, 2011
The expert meeting on long-term health care for the workers at the affected plant was concluded, and the corresponding report was compiled and issued.
September 30, 2011
Radiation doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in August and from March to June that were previously reported were reported by TEPCO. Contact information was missing for 16 workers. An instruction was given to TEPCO to search for the missing workers and to properly implement the dose measurement.
September 30, 2011
Consultation with and recommendations from the Labor Policy Council were made on the outline of the draft Ministerial Ordinance for partial revision of the Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Hazards to mandate that employers submit records of radiation dose for longterm health care for emergency workers in response to the report from the expert meeting.
October 5, 2011
The Fukushima branch of the Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau) conducted an on-site inspection at the affected plant. The Director of the Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office issued a recommendation directing correction of the items in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act pertaining to body contamination of workers on 31 August 2011.
October 11, 2011
The Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Hazards was revised to mandate the employers to submit records of radiation dose and medical examination results for the long-term health care of emergency workers. Furthermore, the guidelines on maintaining and improving health for the emergency workers at affected plant was issued; the guidelines define the implementation of the inspections in response to the radiation dose.
October 14, 2011
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan issued a report compiling the results of the survey on the fitting conditions of the full-face masks used in the emergency works and the Institute’s recommendations on the proper use of the masks. The MHLW provided TEPCO with guidance on actions to be taken based on the suggestions made in the report (in particular, the fitting between the respiratory protective equipment and the face of the worker wearing it).
October 24, 2011
Consultation with and recommendations from the Labor Policy Council were made on the ordinance to reduce the increased emergency dose limits on the radiation dose to the original 100 mSv for workers who will be engaged in the emergency works after the revised date (November 1, 2011) except those workers engaged in the emergency actions to respond to loss of cooling functions at the reactor facility or its surroundings where the ambient dose rate may exceed 0.1 mSv/h.
October 31, 2011
Radiation doses of the workers who were newly engaged in the emergency works in September and from March to August that were not previously reported were reported by TEPCO. Internal doses had not been measured in 173 workers, including 16 workers whose contact information was missing. An instruction was provided to TEPCO to search for the missing workers and to properly implement the radiation dose measurements.
November 21, 2011
Consultation with and recommendations from the Labor Policy Council were made on the ministerial ordinance to abolish the exemptions from the emergency dose limits that were increased to 250 mSv for some works upon the completion of the process to achieve the state of cold shutdown at the affected plant (Step 2 of the roadmap) to be completed before the end of this year.
December 1, 2011
The Office for Radiation Protection of Workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (THE MHLW, Fukushima Prefectural Labour Bureau) conducted an on-site inspection at the affected plant and other related facilities. The inspection revealed that TEPCO had established a set of signs for the operation of mobile cranes to be used among the relevant contractors; however, the set of signs was not made known to all of the relevant contractors in violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act. The Director of the Tomioka Labour Standards Inspection Office issued a recommendation directing TEPCO to correct this citation (9 December 2011).
December 16, 2011
Upon completion of Step 2 of the roadmap, the ministerial ordinance stipulating exemptions from the dose limit of emergency work was abolished.
December 27, 2011
Radiation doses of the workers who were engaged in the emergency works until November were reported from the TEPCO. Contact information was missing for 10 workers.
Reference
[1]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Action time line after the Great East Japan Earthquake,” 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/2011eq/workers/tepco/ort/ors_003.html.