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Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Barbados (RATIFICATION: 1967)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government's latest report in reply to its previous direct request and the General Observation of 1987.

1. The Committee notes the Government's indication that information concerning the measures to be taken in abnormal circumstances will be supplied in the Government's next report. The Committee also recalls from an earlier report that devising an emergency plan in case of accidents involving radioactive material is one of the functions of the Advisory Committee established since June 1978, which is also to keep records of designated radiation workers, their terms of employment, medical examinations, etc., and of sources of radiation, their type and location, as well as to register and license industrial sources. With regard to emergency planning, the Committee would call the Government's attention to paragraphs 16 to 27 of its General Observation under this Convention concerning occupational exposure during and after an emergency and requests the Government to indicate the steps taken or contemplated in relation to the matters raised in its conclusions, particularly under paragraph 35(c).

2. 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. Referring to its General Observation under the Convention, the Committee would draw the Government's attention to the revised dose limits for exposure to ionising radiations established on the basis of new physiological findings by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its 1990 Recommendations. In its report for the period ending 30 June 1982, the Government had indicated that the revisions made in 1972 to the United Kingdom Code of Practice for the Protection of Persons against Ionising Radiation arising from Medical and Dental Use were being followed in Barbados. The United Kingdom has indicated in its latest report that it would revise its Code of Practice concerning the exposure of persons to ionising radiations in light of the new ICRP recommendations. The Government is requested to indicate, in its next report, the steps taken or being considered in relation to the matters raised in the conclusions to the General Observation.

3. In earlier reports, the Government had indicated that the only work involving exposure to ionising radiations in Barbados was in the medical field. The Government has indicated in its latest report that no progress has been made in licensing and registering industrial sources of radiation. The Committee requests the Government to supply in its next report information on the activities of the Advisory Committee referred to in point 1 above, including details of the records kept by that Committee concerning radiation workers and sources of radiation, within and outside the medical field.