Ordinance on Prevention of Lead Poisoning

(Special Ordinance of September 30, 1972)
(Ministry of Labour Ordinance No. 37)

Chapter I.  General Provisions

(Definition of Terms)

Article 1.             Terms used in this Ordinance shall comply with the definitions in the following items:

(1)   Lead, etc., shall be defined as lead, lead alloys, lead compounds and mixtures of these substances with others (exclusive of sintered ore, flue cinder, electrolytic slime and slag).

(2)    Sintered ore, etc., shall be defined as sintered ore, flue cinder, electrolytic slime and slag produced in the processes of smeltering or refining lead, and flue cinder and electrolytic slime produced in the processes of smeltering or refining copper or zinc.

(3)   Lead alloys shall be defined as alloys of lead with other metals which contain lead of 10% or more by weight.

(4)   Lead compounds shall be defined as those which are listed as lead compounds in item 6 of Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order of the Industrial Safety and Health Law (hereinafter referred to as "the Enforcement Order").

(5)   Lead work shall be defined as those which are listed below and those which are listed in items 8 through 11 and item 17 of Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order.

a)    Work to calcinate, sinter or melt ore, or to handle lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc. in the processes of smeltering or refining lead

b)    Work to melt ore in the processes of smeltering or refining copper or zinc (restricted to work handling raw materials which contain lead of 3% or more by weight), to handle molten ore in converters following the ore-melting, or to handle flue cinders or electrolytic slime (restricted to those which are produced in the smeltering or refining processes of copper or zinc.)

c)    Work to melt, cast, pulverize, mix, sieve, knead, fill, dry, process, assemble, weld, cut, shear or carry lead, etc., or to put in or take out powdered lead, etc., to or from a hopper or container in the processes of manufacturing lead batteries or their parts or repairing or disassembling them.

d) Work to melt lead in the processes of manufacturing electric wires, or work to coat or peel wires, or to vulcanize or process coated wires or cables in those processes.

e) Work to melt, cast, weld, cut, shear or process lead or lead alloys in the processes of manufacturing lead alloys, or manufacturing, repairing or disassembling products of lead or lead alloys (exclusive of lead batteries and their parts) , or work to cast lead in the processes of manufacturing lead free-cutting steel.

f)    Work to melt, cast, pulverize, mix, agitate for air-cooling, sieve, calcinate, bake, dry or carry lead, etc., or to put in or take out powdered lead, etc., to or from a hopper or container in the processes of manufacturing lead compounds.

g)    Work to line with lead (inclusive of finishing).

h)    Work to melt, cast, pulverize, mix, or sieve lead, etc. or to coat with lead or to peel coated lead in the processes of manufacturing products of rubber or synthetic resin, paint lead-containing paint, or colors, glaze, agricultural chemicals, glass, adhesives, etc., which contain lead compounds.

i)    Work to solder in places where natural ventilation is insufficient.

j)    Work to glaze with a glaze which contains lead compounds or to bake objects glazed with the said glaze.

k)    Work to picture with colors which contain lead compounds on objects , or to bake objects pictured with the saidcolors.

l) Work to harden or anneal metals using molten lead, or to sand-bathe the said metals. 

m) Work to clean the workshops where the work provided for in items 8, 10, 11 or 17 in Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order, or (a) through (l) listed above are carried out.

(Exempted Work)

Article 2             The work designated under item 15 in Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order shall be the picture painting work using painting brushes or stamps, which is recognized by the Chief of the Labour Standards Inspection Office who governs the location of the workshop (hereinafter referred to as "Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office") to be not so hazardous as to endanger the health of the workers engaging in such work, from contamination by the lead or the baking work using the firing furnace equipped with a local exhaust ventilation system or exhaust dust with the structure and capacity conforming to the provisions of Articles 24through 25, paragraph 1 of Article 28, and Article 29 through 30.

(Exemption of Application)

Article 3             This ministerial ordinance (exclusive of the provisions of Articles 22, 32, 35 through 39 of Chapter 1; Article 46 (restricted to the provisions relating to item (5) of paragraph 2 of Article 58), Section 3 of Chapter 4); paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 (restricted to the provisions of item (5) of paragraph 2 and the conditional clause of Article 39); Article 56; and Article 57) shall not apply where the employer is to have his/her employees engage in lead work which falls under any one of the types of work designated in the followingitems:

(1)   Work to melt or cast lead or lead alloys at temperatures of 450 or less at workshops where the total volume of pots, crucibles, and like to melt lead alloys does not exceed 50 liters.

(2)    Temporary work stated in (i) through (1) of item (5) of Article 1 or cleaning work in the workshops wherein the said work is to be carried out.

(3)   Work in isolated chambers to be conducted by remote control system.

(4)   Work designated by the provision of the preceding Article.

(Procedures of Petition for Recognition)

Article 4.             The employer who wants to be recognized as provided for in Article 2 (hereinafter referred to as "recognition") shall file with the Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office the Petition for Recognition for Partial Exemption of Applying Lead Work (Form 1) attached with a sketch of the workplace.

2.             The Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office, who received such petition, shall notify the said employer whether or not the exemption has been recognized in writing as soon as the decision is made.

3.             The employer who has received such recognition, when the facts stated in the petition or the sketch have changed, shall report the fact in writing to the Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office as soon as possible.

4.             The Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office shall revoke the recognition as soon as workers who are engaged in the said work are found to be not free from lead contamination.