Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 1997, publiée 86ème session CIT (1998)

The Committee notes with interest the detailed information supplied by the Government in its latest report. The Committee likewise notes the information by the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations, in which it indicates that efforts are made to minimize the level of radiation to which workers are exposed and that particular importance is given to the information and the training of radiation workers.

1. Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention. In its general observation of 1992 under the Convention, the Committee drew the attention to the revised exposure limits adopted on the basis of new physiological findings by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its 1990 Recommendations, issued in 1991 as ICRP Publication No. 60. As these Recommendations have a bearing on the application of the Convention, in view of the references to "knowledge available at the time" and "current knowledge" included in Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the Committee accordingly asked governments to indicate the steps taken to ensure effective protection of workers against ionizing radiation and to constantly review maximum permissible doses of ionizing radiation in the light of current knowledge. The Committee notes with interest the information supplied by the Government that preparatory studies are under way towards changing the related Turkish Atomic Energy Institution (TAEK) legislation (in which the permissible dose limits are based upon the criteria set forth in Publication No. 26 of the ICRP) in accordance with the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP. The Committee further notes that the criteria indicated in Publication No. 60 are taken into consideration in the evaluation and assessment of plant projects, in measurements carried out during the licensing stage of new installations, as well as for permissible dose limits for pregnant women. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on the progress made to review permissible dose limits, in accordance with the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP and the 1994 International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation, jointly sponsored by the IAEA, the ILO, the WHO and three other international organizations, which maintained the dose limits recommended by the ICRP.

2. Article 8. The Committee would like to draw the Government's attention to paragraph 14 of its 1992 general observation which concerns dose limits for workers who are not directly engaged in radiation work, but who remain or pass by where they may be exposed to ionizing radiation or radioactive substances. The dose limit for these non-radiation workers should be the same as applied to individual members of the public, which is established by the 1990 ICRP Recommendations at 1 mSv per year, averaged over five consecutive years. The Committee hopes that the studies under way to adapt the TAEK legislation to current knowledge will take the case of non-radiation workers into consideration. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on any progress in this matter.

3. Scope of emergency work. The Committee notes the information of the Government in regard to permissible doses during accidents and emergency situations, and the indication that in training programmes specifically designed for radiation personnel and in individual dosimetric evaluations the 1990 Recommendations of the ICRP are observed. Referring to the explanations provided in paragraphs 23 to 27 and 35(c) of its 1992 general observation, the Committee recalls that exceptional exposure of workers is neither justified for the purpose of rescuing items of high material value nor, more generally, because alternative techniques of intervention, which do not involve such exposure of workers, would involve an excessive expense. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

4. Provision of alternative employment. Referring to the explanations provided in paragraphs 28 to 34 and 35(d) of its 1992 general observation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or contemplated to ensure provision of alternative employment to workers who have accumulated exposure beyond which an unacceptable risk of detriment is to occur and who may thus be faced with the dilemma that protecting their health means losing their employment.