Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Norway (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 7 of the Convention. Young workers. The Committee notes that young workers between the ages of 16 and 18 years are prohibited from performing work involving exposure to ionizing radiation under the Regulations on Employment of Children and Young Workers (Ordinance No. 551 of 30 April 1998, section 9(a)). It notes that under section 10, young workers between the ages of 16 and 18 years may be exempted from this prohibition with respect to their vocational training if the effective dose does not exceed 5 mSv within a 12-month period and that young workers would then be covered by Ordinance No. 1362 of 21 November 2003 on Radiation Protection and Use of Radiation (as amended up to Ordinance No. 167 of 18 February 2005) (RPR). For example, persons in that age category can invoke the right to medical examination before being assigned to work involving ionizing radiation. The Committee notes that this possibility of exemption is not applicable to young persons under the age of 16 years, in conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide examples in its next report on exemptions granted under section 10 above.

Article 8. Dose limits for non-radiation workers. The Committee notes that section 20(3) of the RPR prescribes that, at workplaces where sources for ionizing radiation are used, arrangements should be made to ensure that workers outside restricted areas are not exposed to radiation doses exceeding 1 mSv per year. With reference to the ICRP recommendation of 1990 referred to in paragraph 14 of the Committee’s general observation of 1992 under the Convention in which it was indicated that the dose limit for members of the public should not exceed 1 mSv per year averaged over five years, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on how this provision is applied in practice.

Article 11. Appropriate monitoring of exposure levels. The Committee notes that, under section 7 of the RPR, workers shall have the competence, be properly instructed and that written work procedures shall exist, in accordance with the Convention. It also notes under section 22 of the RPR that workers within a controlled or monitored area shall carry a personal dosimeter or their personal radiation exposure shall be ascertained by other means. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report as to how the personal radiation exposure levels are ascertained “by other means” for workers not having a personal dosimeter.

Article 12. Medical examination. The Committee notes that section 5 of the Ordinance on work involving ionizing radiation regulates the compulsory medical examination of workers before the commencement of work involving ionizing radiations of doses of more than 6 mSv during a time period of 12 months, in accordance with the Convention. It further notes that workers who may be exposed to more than 6 mSv within a time period of 12 months shall have a medical examination on a regular basis every third year. A medical examination shall also be carried out if the worker herself/himself so explicitly requests or if a medical doctor so decides. The Committee requests the Government to clarify the frequency at which medical examinations are carried out.

Article 13. Emergency work. The Committee notes that, under section 9 of the RPR, undertakings shall make an assessment of the risk factors associated with the use of radiation and on this basis take action to prevent risks and any possible loss of radiation sources by drawing up an emergency preparedness plan. It notes with interest that, in accordance with its general observation of 1992 under the Convention, section 21(3) of the RPR states that work involving exposure in excess of 50 mSv may only be carried out by volunteers who have been thoroughly informed of the risks and hazards involved (women of fertile age may participate provided they are not pregnant) and that it is only permitted for emergency situations to save lives, avoid serious damage to health or prevent a dramatic escalation of the accident and that exposure in excess of 500 mSv can only be permitted in order to save lives after a thorough assessment has been made and it is recognized that the benefits clearly outweigh the costs in the form of health risk to the rescue personnel.

Article 14. Alternative employment or other measures offered for maintaining income where continued assignment to work involving exposure is medically inadvisable. The Committee notes that section 5(7) of the Ordinance on work involving ionizing radiation provided that workers with a medical certificate stating that they cannot work with ionizing radiation shall be transferred to work without occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. It notes the Government’s statement that relocation is not considered necessary in cases where shielding is dimensioned in such a way that the additional occupational radiation lies within the variations in the level of background radiation. The Committee also notes the observations submitted by the Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) expressing their concern that the legislation does not provide for a right per se for workers to be provided with alternative employment. 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. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the practical application of this Article, taking into consideration the general observation of 1992 under the Convention.

Article 15. Inspection services. The Committee notes under section 42(2) of the RPR that the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) carries out inspections. It notes that the NRPA may demand rectification where activities conflict with the provisions of the Regulations (section 43). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information with its next report of the activities carried out in this respect, for example, extracts from inspection reports and, if available, information on the number of workers covered by the legislation, disaggregated by sex, if available, the number and nature of contraventions reported, the number and cause of accidents recorded and the measures taken to remedy them.

Part III of the report form. Authorities. The Committee notes that the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) supervises the application of the RPR and that it may lay down individual decisions as necessary for this purpose (section 42(1)). Having previously noted the Government’s statement that, with respect to medical examinations, it is the Labour Inspection Authority who is the competent authority, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on measures taken or envisaged by the NRPA and the Labour Inspection Authority to supervise and enforce the legislation. It further notes the Government’s statement that a number of guidelines and codes of practices are currently being prepared and requests the Government to provide copies of them once they are adopted.