Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Portugal (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee notes the Government’s reports. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points requiring additional measures to be taken.

1. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 1, paragraph 2 of Legislative Decree No. 348/89 and section 1 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 prescribing their scope of application, all activities involving exposure of workers to ionizing radiations are covered by the legislation. It notes however the Government’s indication that crews of aircraft, workers in caves and hot springs, and miners (except those working in uranium mines) are not covered by the legislation, but that new legislation is to be prepared to transpose Council Directive 92/29/Euratom into domestic law. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether the new legislation will also cover the workers currently excluded and to indicate the current state of the legislation process.

2. Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2. The Committee notes that section 31 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in conjunction with Annex IV sets out the different dose limits for the various categories of workers. With regard to workers directly engaged to radiation work, Annex IV(A) establishes an annual dose limit of 50 mSv. The Committee recalls to the Government that the annual dose limit adopted in 1990 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is 20 mSv. The Committee however notes that the dose limits fixed for the lens of the eye and the skin are in conformity with the values recommended by the ICRP. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to align current dose limits to those recommended by the ICRP and thus to give effect to this provision of the Convention, in the framework of the transposition of Council Directive 92/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 into domestic law which reflects the dose limits fixed by the ICRP in 1990. It further reminds the Government that the dose limits set forth in the national legislation should be kept under constant review in the light of the current knowledge.

3. Article 7, paragraph 1(a). The Committee has noted above that section 31 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in conjunction with Annex IV(A), fixes the annual dose for workers directly engaged to radiation work at 50 mSv, which does not comply with the dose limit of 20 mSv per year recommended by the ICRP. With regard to women, the Committee notes with interest that Annex IV(B), item 3 fixes for women in child-bearing age an annual dose limit of 13 mSv which, while the ICRP does not provide for special limits on exposure for women concerned before pregnancy is declared and accordingly the dose limits applicable are those for workers directly engaged in radiation work, thus 20 mSv, is in conformity with the 1990 ICRP recommendations. As to pregnant women, Annex IV(B), item 3 stipulates that the dose limit from the time of conception until the time of birth must not exceed 10 mSv which is ten times higher than that of 1 mSv fixed by the ICRP. However, item 2 in conjunction with Annex II of Decree No. 229/96 prohibits the exposure of pregnant and nursing women to ionizing radiations, which goes even beyond the requirements laid down by the Convention through the relevant values recommended by the ICRP in 1990. Hence, in view of the contradiction contained in the provisions of the above legal texts, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend Annex IV(B), item 3 to Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in order to bring it into conformity with item 2 of Decree No. 229/96 and thus with this provision of the Convention.

4. Article 7, paragraph 1(b). The Committee notes that by virtue of section 31 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in conjunction with Annex IV(B), item 1, the dose limit for workers between the ages of 16 and 18 who are working as apprentice, student or trainee, is three-tenths of the annual dose limits established for workers directly engaged in radiation work, thus 15 mSv. In this respect, the Committee refers to the 1994 International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources, developed under the auspices of the IAEA, the ILO, the WHO and three other international organizations, indicating under item II-6 of Schedule II "Dose limits" that the occupational exposure limit for apprentices of 16 to 18 years of age shall not exceed an effective dose of 6 mSv per year. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures to change the current dose limit for this category of workers.

5. Article 7, paragraph 2. The Committee notes section 31 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90, in conjunction with Annex IV(B), item 2, according to which the annual dose limit of minors under the age of 16 shall not exceed one-tenth of the annual dose limit established for the general public under Annex IV(C), thus 0.5 mSv. The Committee therefore recalls that this provision of the Convention clearly provides for a prohibition to engage workers under the age of 16 in work involving exposure to ionizing radiations. In this respect, the Committee however notes the Government’s indication that Decree No. 715/93 bans minors from activities involving a risk of exposure to ionizing radiations, among other physical agents. Therefore, in view of the contradiction contained in the provisions of the above legal texts, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary legislative measures to amend Annex IV(B), item 2 to Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in a manner to provide for the interdiction of the exposure of minors under the age of 16, in order to remedy the existing contradiction so as to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

6. Article 8. The Committee notes section 31 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 in conjunction with Annex IV(C), item 1, fixing the annual dose limit for the general public at 5 mSv which is not in conformity with the annual dose limit of 1 mSv recommended by the ICRP in 1990. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to establish limits in accordance with those fixed by the ICRP in its 1990 recommendations.

7. Article 12. The Committee notes section 24 of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90 providing for special medical examinations of workers who normally carry out their activities in controlled areas which according to section 20 is carried out by physicians specialized in labour medicine, who, in the case of workers in category A (workers working in controlled areas) and situations of special monitoring, should have received specific training, certified by the General Directorate for Health. In this respect, section 25 of Legislative Decree No. 109/2000 prescribes in detail the responsibilities and required qualifications of the physicians. The Committee further notes that pursuant to section 21, subsection 1, of Regulatory Decree No. 9/90, the objective of carrying out medical examinations of workers is to ensure that the worker’s health is compatible with the tasks to which he or she is assigned. The Committee however notes the absence of a provision indicating the moment and the frequency of these medical examinations. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged specifying the moment when workers directly exposed to ionizing radiations must undergo medical examinations, as well as the frequency and the nature of the medical examinations in question. In this respect, the Committee would remind the Government that Article 12 of the Convention provides for appropriate medical examinations prior or shortly after taking up work involving exposure to ionizing radiations and subsequently at appropriate intervals.