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Japanese workers' radiation exposure in 1989

Nuclear Monitor Issue: 
#343
07/12/1990
Article

(December 7, 1990) While radiation exposure dose levels at nuclear plants in Japan have shown some fluctuation, they are tending to decrease as a whole.

(343.3437) WISE Amsterdam - According to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo, one possible reason for this trend is that the anti-nuclear movement has continuously called for stricter regulation of worker exposure. The electric companies' labor union, although it is not itself opposed to nuclear power generation, has also demanded that the exposure rate be lowered as much as possible. As a consequence, says the Center, the electric companies have had to decrease the rate of exposure by introducing robots.

total annual exposure [person - sievert]

However, in spite of the lower overall rate, workers at reactors with a high incidence of trouble are getting higher doses. Robots cannot cope with accidents or break-downs and workers have to go into the trouble areas to do the repair work. In addition, since the labor union represents only the companies' regular employees, it's demands to lower the level of worker exposure merely encourage electric companies to subcontract the dirtier jobs. As a result, the level of exposure among subcontracted workers continues to increase, accounting for 96% of total worker exposure in fiscal year 1989.

 

NUMBER OF WORKERS AT DIFFERENT EXPOSURE LEVELS
year kind of workers < 5mSv 5-15 mSv 15—25 mSv 25-30 mSv total
1988 plant employee 5,450 116 1 0 5,567
subcontract 44,334 5,591 821 33 50,779
total 49,784 5,707 822 33 56,346
1989 plant employee 5,977 63 0 0 6,040
subcontract 44,894 5,338 642 28 50,902
total 50,871 5,401 642 28 56,942


Source: Nuke Info Tokyo, Sep./Oct. 1990, p.8.

Contact: Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, 4F Yoshinobu Bldg., 2-10-11, Motoasakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111, Japan, tel: 03-843-0596, fax: 03-843-0597.