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

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115) - Poland (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s report, and the attached legislation, indicating recent amendments to legislation giving further effect to the Convention, including the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 18 January 2005 on ionizing radiation dose limits (Journal of Law, No. 20, item 168) supplemented by a table in the Annex to the Ordinance containing values of conversion factors for determining effective doses of noble gases exposure for adults, and the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 24 August 2004 upholding the ban on juveniles performing work exposing them to ionizing radiation at the level exceeding the dose limits laid down by the provisions of the Atomic Law.

Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Dose limits for occupational exposure. With reference to the Committee’s comment on exposure exceeding dose limit values in special cases, as allowed by section 19(1) of the Atomic Law Act 2000, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that no applications of this provision were registered in the territory of Poland in the current reporting period. The Committee notes the Government’s response indicating that, in theory, section 19 could be applied in a situation where an employer predicted that workers carrying out particularly complicated assignments might be exposed to radiation exceeding the dose limits. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any situations or special cases which justify extensive exposure of workers on the grounds of section 18(1) of the Atomic Law.

Article 14. Alternative employment or other measures offered for maintaining income where continued assignment to work involving exposure is medically inadvisable. The Committee notes the Government’s response to the Committee’s comments that pursuant to sections 230 and 231 of the Labour Code, where symptoms of an occupational disease are detected in an employee, the employer shall be obliged, on the basis of a medical certificate, to transfer the employee to a job not exposing them to the factor which has caused the symptoms, and that where the transfer to another job results in a reduction of remuneration, the employee shall be entitled to a compensatory allowance for a period not exceeding six months. The Government has also indicated the availability of benefits under the Act of 30 October 2002 on social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the measures in place to cover workers transferred, pursuant to sections 230 and 231 of the Labour Code, to another job, resulting in a reduction of remuneration, after the compensatory allowance period has been exceeded. The Committee, with reference to its request, refers the Government to paragraph 32 of its 1992 general observation under the Convention.

Article 15 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s response indicating that nuclear regulatory authorities control all entities, not only in the health-care sector, that are involved in activities resulting in potential exposure to the level of ionizing radiation which must be authorized by or communicated to the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency. The Committee also notes that approximately 850 entities are subject to inspection every year, and that section 123 of the Atomic Law Act has contributed to the increased awareness of the issue of non-compliance with dose limits. The Committee notes the detailed statistical information provided in the Government’s report, including results of the supervision executed by the State Sanitary Inspectorate in terms of radiation hygiene which found that the most frequent irregularities in terms of protection against ionizing radiation were the lack of a quality management system, improper documentation and lack of health and safety at work training. The Committee asks the Government to provide information, in its next report, on measures taken to address these identified irregularities and to continue to provide detailed information on labour inspections and statistical information on the number of exposure cases registered, disaggregated by gender, if available.