Special Scientific Personnel / Medical Physicist M.Sc. Technical Cooperation, Europe Region, School of Drafting Regulations Module 1.10: Planned Exposure Situations - Occupational Exposure (GSR Part 3) Stavroula Vogiatzi Special Scientific Personnel / Medical Physicist M.Sc. Greece / Greek Atomic Energy Commission / Department of Licensing & Inspection Vienna, 04 / 11 / 2014

Contents Occupational exposure - Scope Responsibilities of the regulatory body specific to occupational exposure - Schedule III Requirements for monitoring & recording of occupational exposures Responsibilities of employers, registrants & licensees for the protection of workers Compliance by workers Cooperation between employers & registrants & licensees

Contents Arrangements under the radiation protection programme Assessment of occupational exposure & workers’ health surveillance Information, instruction & training Conditions of service Special arrangements for protection & safety for female workers & for persons under 18 years of age undergoing training

SCOPE The requirements in respect of occupational exposure in planned exposure situations apply to occupational exposure due to a practice or a source within a practice, i.e.:

SCOPE production, supply, provision & transport of RAM, devices that contain RAM (sealed/unsealed sources), consumer products; production & supply of devices that generate radiation (linear accelerators, cyclotrons, fixed/mobile radiography equipment); the generation of nuclear power, including any activities within the nuclear fuel cycle that involve or that could involve exposure to radiation or exposure due to RAM;

SCOPE the use of radiation or RAM for medical, industrial, veterinary, agricultural, legal or security purposes, including the use of associated equipment, software or devices where such use could affect exposure to radiation; the use of radiation or RAM for education, training or research, including any activities relating to such use that involve or could involve exposure to radiation or exposure due to RAM; the mining & processing of raw materials that involve exposure due to RAM; any other practice as specified by the regulatory body.

SCOPE Facilities that contain RAM & facilities that contain radiation generators, including nuclear installations, medical radiation facilities, veterinary radiation facilities, facilities for the management of radioactive waste, installations for the processing of RAM, irradiation facilities, mineral extraction & mineral processing facilities that involve or could involve exposure to radiation or exposure due to RAM; Individual sources of radiation, including sources within the types of facility mentioned above, as appropriate, in accordance with the requirements of the regulatory body.

Requirement 19: Responsibilities of the regulatory body specific to occupational exposure The government or the regulatory body shall establish & enforce requirements to ensure that protection & safety is optimized & the regulatory body shall enforce compliance with dose limits for occupational exposure.

Requirement 19: The government or the regulatory body: shall establish the responsibilities of employers, registrants & licensees with regard to application of the requirements for occupational exposure in planned exposure situations shall establish & enforce requirements to ensure that protection & safety is optimized for occupational exposure.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that the undertaking is responsible for assessing & implementing arrangements for the radiation protection of exposed workers. Outside workers (Article 51). Member States shall arrange for a clear allocation of responsibilities for the protection of workers in any exposure situation, to an undertaking, an employer or any other organization, in particular for: emergency, remediation etc, radon at work – self-employed & volunteers. Member States shall ensure that employers have access to information on the possible exposure of their employees, under the responsibility of another employer or undertaking.

Requirement 19: The government or the regulatory body shall establish & the regulatory body shall enforce compliance with the dose limits specified in Schedule III for occupational exposure.

Schedule III For occupational exposure of workers over the age of 18 years, the dose limits are: An effective dose of 20 mSv per year averaged over five consecutive years66 (100 mSv in 5 years) & of 50 mSv in any single year; 66 The start of the averaging period shall be coincident with the first day of the relevant annual period after the date of entry into force of these Standards, with no retrospective averaging. An equivalent dose to the lens of the eye of 20 mSv per year averaged over five consecutive years (100 mSv in 5 years) & of 50 mSv in any single year;

Schedule III An equivalent dose to the extremities (hands & feet) or to the skin67 of 500 mSv in a year. 67 The equivalent dose limits for the skin apply to the average dose over 1 cm2 of the most highly irradiated area of the skin. The dose to the skin also contributes to the effective dose, this contribution being the average dose to the entire skin multiplied by the tissue weighting factor for the skin.

Schedule III Additional restrictions apply to occupational exposure for a female worker who has notified pregnancy or is breast-feeding (para. 3.114). For occupational exposure of apprentices of 16 to 18 years of age who are being trained for employment involving radiation & for exposure of students of age 16 to 18 who use sources in the course of their studies, the dose limits are: An effective dose of 6 mSv in a year; An equivalent dose to the lens of the eye of 20 mSv in a year; An equivalent dose to the extremities (hands & feet) or to the skin67 of 150 mSv in a year.

Requirement 19: Before authorization of a new or modified practice, the regulatory body shall require, as appropriate & review supporting documents from the responsible parties that state: Design criteria & design features relating to the exposure & potential exposure of workers in all operational states & in accident conditions; Design criteria & design features of the appropriate systems & programmes for monitoring of workers for occupational exposure in all operational states & in accident conditions.

Requirement 20: Requirements for monitoring & recording of occupational exposures The regulatory body shall establish & enforce requirements for the monitoring & recording of occupational exposures in planned exposure situations.

Requirement 20: The regulatory body shall be responsible, as appropriate, for: Establishment & enforcement of requirements for the monitoring, recording & control of occupational exposures in planned exposure situations in accordance with the requirements of these Standards Review of monitoring programmes of registrants & licensees, which shall be adequate to ensure that the requirements with regard to occupational exposure in planned exposure situations are fulfilled; Authorization or approval of service providers for individual monitoring & calibration services;

Requirement 20: Review of periodic reports on occupational exposure (including results of monitoring programmes & dose assessments) submitted by employers, registrants & licensees; Provision for maintaining exposure records & results of the assessment of doses from occupational exposure; Verification of compliance of an authorized practice with the requirements on the control of occupational exposure.

Requirement 21: Responsibilities of employers, registrants & licensees for the protection of workers Employers, registrants & licensees shall be responsible for the protection of workers against occupational exposure ensure that protection & safety is optimized & that the dose limits for occupational exposure are not exceeded.

Requirement 21: For workers who are engaged in activities in which they are or could be subject to occupational exposure in planned exposure situations, employers, registrants & licensees shall be responsible for: Protection of workers against occupational exposure; Compliance with other relevant requirements of these Standards. Employers who are also registrants or licensees shall have the responsibilities of both employers & registrants or licensees.

Requirement 21: Employers, registrants & licensees shall ensure, for all workers engaged in activities in which they are or could be subject to occupational exposure, that: Occupational exposure is controlled, so that the relevant dose limits for occupational exposure specified in Schedule III are not exceeded; Protection & safety is optimized in accordance with the requirements of these Standards; Decisions with regard to measures for protection & safety are recorded & made available to relevant parties, through their representatives where appropriate, as specified by the regulatory body;

Requirement 21: Policies, procedures & organizational arrangements for protection & safety are established for implementing the relevant requirements of these Standards, with priority given to design measures & technical measures for controlling occupational exposure; Suitable & adequate facilities, equipment & services for protection & safety are provided, the type & extent of which are commensurate with the expected likelihood & magnitude of occupational exposure; Necessary workers’ health surveillance & health services for workers are provided;

Requirement 21: Appropriate monitoring equipment & personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided & arrangements are made for its proper use, calibration, testing & maintenance; Suitable & adequate human resources & appropriate training in protection & safety are provided, as well as periodic retraining as required to ensure the necessary level of competence; Adequate records are maintained in accordance with the requirements of these Standards;

Requirement 21: Arrangements are made to facilitate consultation of & cooperation with workers, through their representatives where appropriate, with regard to protection & safety on all measures necessary to achieve the effective application of these Standards; Necessary conditions for promoting safety culture are provided.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that the operational protection of exposed workers is based, in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Directive, on: prior evaluation to identify the nature & magnitude of the radiological risk to exposed workers; optimization of radiation protection in all working conditions, including occupational exposures as a consequence of practices involving medical exposures; classification of exposed workers into different categories;

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom control measures & monitoring relating to the different areas & working conditions, including, where necessary, individual monitoring; medical surveillance; education & training.

Requirement 21: Employers, registrants & licensees shall: involve workers, through their representatives where appropriate, in optimization of protection & safety; establish & use, as appropriate, constraints as part of optimization of protection & safety; ensure that workers exposed to radiation from sources within a practice, that are not required by or directly related to their work, have the same level of protection against such exposure, as members of the public.

Requirement 21: take such administrative actions as are necessary to ensure that workers are informed that ensuring protection & safety is an integral part of a general occupational health & safety programme, in which they have specific obligations & responsibilities for their own protection & the protection of others, against radiation exposure & for the safety of sources record any report received from a worker that identifies circumstances that could affect compliance with the requirements of these Standards & shall take appropriate action.

Requirement 21: Nothing in these Standards shall be construed as relieving employers from complying with applicable national & local laws & regulations, governing hazards in the workplace. Employers, registrants & licensees shall facilitate compliance by workers with the requirements of these Standards.

Requirement 22: Compliance by workers Workers shall fulfill their obligations & carry out their duties for protection & safety.

Requirement 22: Workers shall: follow any applicable rules & procedures for protection & safety, as specified by the employer, registrant or licensee; use properly the monitoring equipment & PPE provided; cooperate with the employer, registrant or licensee with regard to protection & safety & programmes for workers’ health surveillance & for dose assessment;

Requirement 22: provide to the employer, registrant or licensee, such information on their past & present work, that is relevant for ensuring effective & comprehensive protection & safety for themselves & others; abstain from any willful action that could put themselves or others, in situations that would not be in accordance with the requirements of these Standards; accept such information, instruction & training in protection & safety, as will enable them to conduct their work, in accordance with the requirements of these Standards.

Requirement 23: Cooperation between employers & registrants & licensees Employers & registrants & licensees shall cooperate to the extent necessary for compliance by all responsible parties with the requirements for protection & safety.

Requirement 23: If workers are engaged in work, that involves or that could involve a source, that is not under the control of their employer, the registrant or licensee responsible for the source & the employer shall cooperate to the extent necessary for compliance by both parties with the requirements of these Standards.

Requirement 23: Cooperation between the employer & the registrant or licensee shall include, where appropriate: The development & use of specific restrictions on exposure & other means of ensuring that, the measures for protection & safety for workers, who are engaged in work that involves or could involve a source, that is not under the control of their employer, are at least as good as those for employees of the registrant or licensee;

Requirement 23: Specific assessments of the doses received by workers as specified above; A clear allocation & documentation of the responsibilities of the employer & those of the registrant or licensee for protection & safety.

Requirement 23: As part of the cooperation between parties, the registrant or licensee responsible for the source or for the exposure, as appropriate, shall: obtain from the employers, including self-employed persons, the previous occupational exposure history of workers as specified in para. 3.103, & any other necessary information; provide appropriate information to the employer, including any available information relevant for compliance with the requirements of these Standards that the employer requests; provide both the worker & the employer with the relevant exposure records.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that: the system for individual radiological monitoring affords outside workers equivalent protection to that for exposed workers employed on a permanent basis by the undertaking the undertaking is responsible, either directly or through contractual agreements with the employer of outside workers, for the operational aspects of the radiation protection of outside workers that are directly related to the nature of their activities in the undertaking (minimum requirements described in Art.51)

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom employers of outside workers ensure, either directly or through contractual agreements with the undertaking, that the radiation protection of their workers, is in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Directive, in particular by……. all outside workers make their own contributions, as far as practicable, towards the protection to be afforded to them, by the radiological monitoring system referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to the responsibilities of the undertaking or employer.

Requirement 24: Arrangements under the radiation protection programme Employers, registrants & licensees shall establish & maintain organizational, procedural & technical arrangements, for the designation of controlled areas & supervised areas, for local rules & for monitoring of the workplace, in a radiation protection programme for occupational exposure.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that: arrangements in workplaces include a classification into different areas, where appropriate, on the basis of an assessment of the expected annual doses & the probability & magnitude of potential exposures. the competent authority establishes guidance on the classification of controlled & supervised areas with regard to particular circumstances. the undertaking keeps under review the working conditions in controlled & supervised areas.

Requirement 24: Classification of areas: Controlled areas Registrants & licensees shall designate as a controlled area any area32 in which specific measures for protection & safety are or could be required for: Controlling exposures or preventing the spread of contamination in normal operation; Preventing or limiting the likelihood & magnitude of exposures in anticipated operational occurrences & accident conditions. 32 The transport of radioactive material is regulated in accordance with the IAEA Transport Regulations [12].

Requirement 24: Classification of areas: Controlled areas In defining the boundaries of any controlled area, registrants & licensees shall take account of the magnitude of the exposures expected in normal operation, the likelihood & magnitude of exposures in anticipated operational occurrences & in accident conditions & the type & extent of the procedures required for protection & safety.

Requirement 24: Classification of areas: Controlled areas Registrants & licensees shall: delineate controlled areas by physical means or, where this is not reasonably practicable, by some other suitable means where a source is only intermittently brought into operation or energized, or is moved from place to place, delineate an appropriate controlled area, by means that are appropriate under the prevailing circumstances & specify exposure times

Requirement 24: display the symbol recommended by the International Organization for Standardization [16] & display instructions, at access points to & at appropriate locations within controlled areas establish measures for protection & safety, including, as appropriate, physical measures to control the spread of contamination & local rules & procedures for controlled areas restrict access to controlled areas, by means of administrative procedures, such as the use of work permits & by physical barriers, which could include locks or interlocks, the degree of restriction being commensurate with the likelihood & magnitude of exposures

Requirement 24: provide, as appropriate, at entrances to controlled areas: Personal protective equipment (PPE); Equipment for individual monitoring & workplace monitoring; Suitable storage for personal clothing. provide, as appropriate, at exits from controlled areas: Equipment for monitoring for contamination of skin & clothing; Equipment for monitoring for contamination of any objects or material being removed from the area; Washing or showering facilities & other personal decontamination facilities; Suitable storage for contaminated PPE.

Requirement 24: periodically review conditions, to assess whether there is any need to modify the measures for protection & safety or the boundaries of controlled areas; provide appropriate information, instruction & training for persons working in controlled areas.

Requirement 24: Classification of areas: Supervised areas Registrants & licensees shall designate as a supervised area, any area not already designated as a controlled area, but for which occupational exposure conditions need to be kept under review, even though specific measures for protection & safety are not normally needed.

Requirement 24: Classification of areas: Supervised areas Registrants & licensees shall: delineate the supervised areas by appropriate means; display approved signs, as appropriate, at access points to supervised areas; periodically review conditions to assess whether there is any need for further measures for protection & safety or any need for changes to the boundaries of supervised areas.

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE Employers, registrants & licensees shall minimize the need to rely on administrative controls & PPE for protection & safety, by providing well engineered controls & satisfactory working conditions, in accordance with the following hierarchy of preventive measures: Engineered controls; Administrative controls; PPE.

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE Employers, registrants & licensees, in consultation with workers, or through their representatives where appropriate, shall: establish in writing local rules & procedures, that are necessary for protection & safety for workers & other persons; include in the local rules & procedures, any relevant investigation level or authorized level & the procedures to be followed, in the event that any such level is exceeded;

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE make the local rules & procedures & the measures for protection & safety known to those workers, to whom they apply & to other persons who may be affected by them; ensure that any work in which workers are or could be subject to occupational exposure, is adequately supervised & shall take all reasonable steps, to ensure that the rules, procedures & measures for protection & safety are observed; designate, as appropriate, a RPO in accordance with criteria established by the regulatory body.

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE Employers, registrants & licensees shall ensure that: workers are provided with suitable & adequate PPE that meets relevant standards or specifications, including as appropriate: Protective clothing; Respiratory protective equipment, the characteristics of which are made known to the users; Protective aprons, protective gloves & organ shields.

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE where appropriate, workers receive adequate instruction in the proper use of respiratory protective equipment, including testing for good fit. tasks requiring the use of certain PPE are assigned only to workers, who on the basis of medical advice, are capable of safely sustaining the extra effort necessary. all PPE including equipment for use in an emergency, is maintained in proper condition & if appropriate, is tested at regular intervals.

Requirement 24: Local rules & procedures & PPE If the use of PPE is considered for any given task, account is taken of any additional exposure that could result owing to the additional time taken or the inconvenience & of any non-radiological risks, that might be associated with using PPE while performing the task.

Requirement 24: Monitoring of the workplace Registrants & licensees, in cooperation with employers where appropriate, shall: establish, maintain & keep under review a programme for workplace monitoring, under the supervision of a RPO or qualified expert. maintain records of the findings of the workplace monitoring programme. The findings of the workplace monitoring programme shall be made available to workers, through their representatives where appropriate.

Requirement 24: Monitoring of the workplace The type & frequency of workplace monitoring shall: be sufficient to enable: Evaluation of the radiological conditions in all workplaces; Assessment of exposures in & review of the classification of controlled areas & supervised areas; be based on dose rate, activity concentration in air & surface contamination & their expected fluctuations & on the likelihood & magnitude of exposures in anticipated operational occurrences & accident conditions.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall require undertakings to seek advice from a RPE within their areas of competence, as outlined in Article 82, on the issues below that are relevant to the practice: the examination & testing of protective devices & measuring instruments; prior critical review of plans for installations from the point of view of radiation protection; the acceptance into service of new or modified radiation sources from the point of view of radiation protection;

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom regular checking of the effectiveness of protective devices & techniques; regular calibration of measuring instruments & regular checking that they are serviceable & correctly used.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that the radiological surveillance of the workplace referred to in point (b) of Articles 37(1) and point (a) of Article 38(1) comprises, where appropriate: the measurement of external dose rates, indicating the nature & quality of the radiation in question; the measurement of the activity concentration in air & the surface density of contaminating radionuclides, indicating their nature & their physical & chemical states. The results of these measurements shall be recorded & used, if necessary, for estimating individual doses, as provided for in Article 41 (individual monitoring).

Requirement 25: Assessment of occupational exposure & workers’ health surveillance Employers, registrants & licensees shall be responsible for making arrangements for assessment & recording of occupational exposures & for workers’ health surveillance.

Requirement 25: Assessment of occupational exposure Employers, as well as self-employed persons & registrants & licensees shall be responsible for making arrangements for assessment of the occupational exposure of workers, on the basis of individual monitoring where appropriate & shall ensure that arrangements are made with authorized or approved dosimetry service providers, that operate under a quality management system.

Requirement 25: Assessment of occupational exposure For any worker, who usually works in a controlled area, or who occasionally works in a controlled area & may receive a significant dose from occupational exposure, individual monitoring shall be undertaken where appropriate, adequate & feasible.

Requirement 25: Assessment of occupational exposure In cases where individual monitoring of the worker is inappropriate, inadequate or not feasible, the occupational exposure shall be assessed on the basis of the results of workplace monitoring & information on the locations & durations of exposure of the worker33. 33 The distinction between types of worker in paras 3.100 & 3.101 for the purposes of monitoring has similarities to the distinction between category A and category B workers in European Union legislation [18].

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that for the purposes of monitoring & surveillance, a distinction is made between two categories of exposed workers: category A: those exposed workers who are liable to receive an effective dose greater than 6 mSv per year or an equivalent dose greater than 15 mSv per year for the lens of the eye or greater than 150 mSv per year for skin and extremities; category B: those exposed workers who are not classified as category A workers.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall require the undertaking or, in the case of outside workers, the employer, to decide on the categorization of individual workers, prior to their taking up work that may give rise to exposure & to regularly review this categorization on the basis of working conditions & medical surveillance. The distinction shall also take into account potential exposures.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Member States shall ensure that category A workers are systematically monitored based on individual measurements performed by a dosimetry service. In cases where category A workers are liable to receive significant internal exposure or significant exposure of the lens of the eye or extremities, an adequate system for monitoring shall be set up. Member States shall ensure that monitoring for category B workers is at least sufficient to demonstrate that such workers are correctly classified in category B. Member States may require individual monitoring & if necessary individual measurements, performed by a dosimetry service, for category B workers.

Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom In cases where individual measurements are not possible or inadequate, the individual monitoring shall be based on an estimate arrived at from individual measurements made on other exposed workers, from the results of the surveillance of the workplace provided for in Article 39 or on the basis of calculation methods approved by the CA. Member States shall ensure that in the case of accidental exposure, the undertaking is required to assess the relevant doses & their distribution in the body.

Requirement 25: Assessment of occupational exposure For any worker who regularly works in a supervised area, or who enters a controlled area only occasionally, the occupational exposure shall be assessed on the basis of the results of workplace monitoring or individual monitoring, as appropriate. Employers shall ensure that workers who could be subject to exposure due to contamination are identified, including workers who use respiratory protective equipment. Employers shall arrange for appropriate monitoring to the extent necessary, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the measures for protection & safety & to assess intakes of radionuclides & the committed effective doses.

Requirement 25: Records of occupational exposure Employers, registrants &licensees shall maintain records of occupational exposure34 for every worker, for whom assessment of occupational exposure is required in paras 3.99–3.102. Records of occupational exposure for each worker shall be maintained during & after the worker’s working life, at least until the former worker attains or would have attained the age of 75 years & for not less than 30 years after cessation of the work, in which the worker was subject to occupational exposure. 34 Records of occupational exposure are also referred to as ‘exposure records’ or ‘dose records ’.

Requirement 25: Records of occupational exposure shall include: Information on the general nature of the work, in which the worker was subject to occupational exposure; Information on dose assessments, exposures & intakes at or above the relevant recording levels specified by the regulatory body & the data upon which the dose assessments were based; When a worker is or has been exposed, while in the employ of more than one employer, information on the dates of employment with each employer & on the doses, exposures & intakes in each such employment;

Requirement 25: Records of any assessments made of doses, exposures & intakes, due to actions taken in an emergency or due to accidents or other incidents, which shall be distinguished from assessments of doses, exposures & intakes due to normal conditions of work & which shall include references to reports of any relevant investigations.

Requirement 25: Employers, registrants & licensees shall: provide workers with access to records of their own occupational exposure; provide the supervisor of the programme for workers’ health surveillance, the regulatory body & the relevant employer with access to workers’ records of occupational exposure; facilitate the provision of copies of workers’ exposure records to new employers, when workers change employment; make arrangements for the retention of exposure records for former workers by the employer, registrant or licensee, as appropriate;

Requirement 25: Employers, registrants & licensees shall: in complying with all the above, give due care & attention to maintaining the confidentiality of records. If employers, registrants & licensees cease to conduct activities, in which workers are subject to occupational exposure, they shall make arrangements for the retention of workers’ records of occupational exposure by the regulatory body or a State registry, or by a relevant employer, registrant or licensee, as appropriate.

Requirement 25: Workers’ health surveillance Programmes for workers’ health surveillance, as required in para. 3.76(f) shall be: based on the general principles of occupational health [19]; designed to assess the initial fitness & continuing fitness of workers, for their intended tasks.

Requirement 25: Workers’ health surveillance If one or more workers are to be engaged in work, in which they are or could be exposed to radiation from a source, that is not under the control of their employer, the registrant or licensee responsible for the source shall, as a precondition for the engagement of such workers, make with the employer any special arrangements for workers’ health surveillance, that are needed to comply with the rules established by the regulatory body or other relevant authority.

Requirement 26: Information, instruction & training Employers, registrants & licensees shall provide workers with adequate information, instruction & training for protection & safety.

Requirement 26: Employers in cooperation with registrants & licensees shall: provide all workers with adequate information on health risks due to their occupational exposure in normal operation, anticipated operational occurrences & accident conditions, adequate instruction & training & periodic retraining in protection & safety & adequate information on the significance of their actions for protection & safety;

Requirement 26: provide those workers, who could be involved in or affected by the response to an emergency, with appropriate information & adequate instruction & training & periodic retraining, for protection & safety; maintain records of the training provided to individual workers.

Requirement 27: Conditions of service Employers, registrants & licensees shall not offer benefits, as substitutes for measures for protection & safety.

Requirement 27: The conditions of service of workers shall be independent of whether they are or could be subject to occupational exposure. Special compensatory arrangements, or preferential consideration with respect to salary, special insurance coverage, working hours, length of vacation, additional holidays or retirement benefits, shall neither be granted nor be used as substitutes for measures for protection & safety in accordance with the requirements of these Standards.

Requirement 27: Employers shall make all reasonable efforts to provide workers with suitable alternative employment, in circumstances for which it has been determined, either by the regulatory body or in the framework of the programme for workers’ health surveillance in accordance with the requirements of these Standards, that workers, for health reasons, may no longer continue in employment, in which they are or could be subject to occupational exposure.

Requirement 28: Special arrangements for protection & safety for female workers & for persons under 18 years of age undergoing training Employers, registrants & licensees shall make special arrangements: for female workers, as necessary, for protection of the embryo or fetus & breastfed infants for protection & safety for persons, under 18 years of age, who are undergoing training.

Requirement 28: Employers in cooperation with registrants & licensees shall: provide female workers who are liable to enter controlled areas or supervised areas or who may undertake emergency duties, with appropriate information on: the risk to the embryo or fetus due to exposure of a pregnant woman; the importance for a female worker, of notifying her employer, as soon as possible, if she suspects that she is pregnant35 or if she is breast-feeding; the risk of health effects, for a breastfed infant due to ingestion of radioactive substances.

Requirement 28: 35 Notification of an employer of a suspected pregnancy or of breast-feeding cannot be made a requirement on a female worker in these Standards. However, it is necessary that all female workers understand the importance of making such notifications, so that their working conditions may be modified accordingly.

Requirement 28: Notification of the employer by a female worker if she suspects that she is pregnant or if she is breast-feeding shall not be considered a reason to exclude the female worker from work. The employer of a female worker, who has been notified of her suspected pregnancy or that she is breast-feeding, shall adapt the working conditions in respect of occupational exposure, so as to ensure that the embryo or fetus or the breastfed infant, is afforded the same broad level of protection, as is required for members of the public.

Requirement 28: Employers, registrants & licensees shall ensure that: no person under the age of 16 years, is or could be subject to occupational exposure, persons under the age of 18 years, are allowed access to a controlled area, only under supervision & only for the purpose of training for employment, in which they are or could be subject to occupational exposure, or for the purpose of studies in which sources are used.

Thank you for your attention