Ordinance on Prevention of Lead Poisoning

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

Chapter II.  Facilities

(Facilities Pertaining to Lead Smeltering, etc.)

Article 5.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work stated ina) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in a workshop where calcination, sintering, and melting of ore, or melting, casting or baking of lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., are conducted.

(2)   Install equipment either to seal up the emitting source of dust of lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., or locally exhaust them in an indoor workshop where lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., are crushed, pulverized, mixed or sieved using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(3)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system and equipment to receive powdered lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., (exclusive of slag hereinafter the same, in this item) which spills out of containers in an indoor workshop where powdered lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., are fed to and/or taken out of a hopper, pulverizer or container using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(4)   When flue cinders, electrolytic slime or slag are stored temporarily, secure places for them or install containers for them.

(5)   Install containers for floating slag in workshops where lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., are melted or cast.

(Facilities Pertaining to Copper Smeltering)

Article 6.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in b) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in workshops where smeltering, melting (restricted to that which is conducted in a converter or melting furnace for electrolytic slime) or baking of flue cinders is conducted.

(2)   Install either equipment to seal up the emitting source of dust of flue cinders or electrolytic slime or a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where flue cinders or electrolytic slime are crushed, mixed or sieved using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(3)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system and equipment to receive flue cinders or electrolytic slime which spill out of containers, etc., in an indoor workshop where flue cinders or electrolytic slime is put in or taken out of a hopper, pulverizer or container using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(4)   When flue cinders or electrolytic slime are stored temporarily, secure places for them or install containers for them.

(5)   Install containers for floating slag in workshops where melting (restricted to melting by melting furnace for electrolytic slime) is conducted.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing Lead Batteries)

Article 7.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in c) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where lead, etc., is melted, cast, processed, assembled, welded or cut, or battery plates are cut.

(2)   Install either equipment to seal up the emitting source of dust of lead, etc. or a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where lead, etc., are pulverized, mixed, sieved or kneaded using techniques other than the wet method.

(3)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system and equipment to receive powdered lead, etc., which spill out of a container or the like in an indoor workshop where powdered lead, etc., is put in or taken out of a hopper or container and the like using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(4)    Isolate a workshop where lead, etc. is pulverized for manufacturing lead powder from indoor workshops for any work (exclusive of melting and casting of lead, etc., for manufacturing lead powder) other than the said work.

(5)   Install covers, etc., for preventing molten lead or lead alloys from splashing on an automatic casting machine which might splash them.

(6)   Install conduits, receivers, etc., for kneaded powder of lead, etc., so that it does not spill on the floor, on worktables to fill kneaded powder of lead, etc., or equipment which carries hung battery plates filled with kneaded powder of lead, etc.

(7)   For containers of powdered lead, etc., to be manually carried, install carrying handles or wheels on the said containers, or provide trucks which carry such containers so that workers will not be contaminated by lead, etc.

(8)   Make the floor structure of an indoor workshop easy to clean with either a vacuum cleaner or flushing water.

(9)    Measures provided for in item (5) of Article 5.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing Electric Wires, etc.)

Article 8.             The employer who has workers engage in melting lead as provided for in d) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system and containers for floating slag in an indoor workshop where lead work is conducted.

(2)    Measures provided for in item (8) of the preceding Article.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing Lead Alloys, etc.)

Article 9.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in e) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where lead or lead alloys are melted, cast, welded, cut, sheared or processed with power tools (exclusive of shearing and processing which are unlikely to emit dust of lead alloys) or lead free-cutting steel is cast.

(2)   When cutting dust of lead or lead alloys are stored temporarily, secure places for them or provide containers for them.

(3)    Measures provided for in item (5) of Article 5, and in items (5) and (8) of Article 7.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing Lead Compounds)

Article 10.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in f) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where lead is melted, cast, calcinated or baked.

(2)   Install either equipment to seal up the emitting source of dust of lead, etc., or a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where agitation of lead, etc., is conducted for air-cooling.

(3)    Measures provided for in item (5) of Article 5 and items (2), (3), (7) and (8) of Article 7.

(Facilities Pertaining to Lead Lining)

Article 11.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in g) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where lead, etc., is melted, welded, cut, deposited, melt-injected, or objects evaporized with lead, or lined with lead are finished.

(2)   Install containers for floating slag in a workshop where lead, etc., is melted.

(Facilities Pertaining to Welding of Objects Lined with Lead, etc.)

Article 12.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in item 8 of Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where objects lined with lead or applied with paints which contain lead compounds (hereinafter referred to as lead-containing paints) are welded, cut, heated or rolled.

(2)   Install either equipment to seal up the emitting source of dust of lead, etc., or a local exhaust ventilation system in an indoor workshop where objects lined with lead or applied with lead-containing paints are crushed using techniques other than the wetmethod.

(Facilities Pertaining to Demolishing of Lead Equipment, etc.)

Article 13.             When the employer has workers engage in work to demolish,  weld or cut lead equipment (equipment which are covered with or accumulated with powdered lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., such as furnace, chimney, pulverizer, dryer and dust exclusion device) or concerning the work provided for in item 10 of Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order, in an indoor workshop, he/she shall install a local exhaust ventilation system in the workshop where such work is conducted.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing of Transfer Paper)

Article 14.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in item 11 of Attached Table 4 of the Enforcement Order shall install a local exhaust ventilation system in the said workshop.

(Facilities Pertaining to Manufacturing of Lead-containing Paints, etc.)

Article 15.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in h) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install a local exhaust ventilation system and provide containers for floating slag in an indoor workshop where lead, etc., is melted or cast.

(2)    Isolate a workshop for pulverizing lead, etc., from other indoor workshops.

(3)    Measures provided for in item (2) of Article 7.

(Facilities Pertaining to Soldering)

Article 16.             The employer who has workers engage in lead work provided for in i) of item (5) of Article 1, shall install either a local exhaust ventilation system or a general ventilation system in the said indoor workshop.

(Facilities Pertaining to Glazing)

Article 17.             The employer who has workers engage in glazing work provided for in j) of item (5) of Article 1 in an indoor workshop (restricted to the processes of either spraying or blasting), shall install a local exhaust ventilation system in the said workshop.

(Facilities Pertaining to Stamping of Pictures)

Article 18.             The employer, who has workers engage in picture-stamping work provided for in k) of item (5) of Article 1 (restricted to the work by spraying or lacquering by using silver and gold powder) in an indoor workshop, shall install a local exhaust ventilation system in the said workshop.

(Facilities Pertaining to Hardening)

Article 19.             The employer, who has workers engage in hardening or tempering work provided for in l) of item (5) of Article 1, shall take the measures provided for in item (1) of Article 8.

(Conveyor)

Article 20.             The employer, who uses a conveyor in an indoor workshop for carrying powdered lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., shall take the following measures:

(1)   Install equipment to seal up the emitting source of dust of lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., or a local exhaust ventilation system at places where dust of lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., is fed to a conveyor and at places where conveyors are connected.

(2)   Put covers on a bucket conveyor on its top, bottom and sides.

(Facilities for Drying)

Article 21.             The employer shall take the following measures for drying rooms or industrial dryers used for lead work of drying powdered lead, etc.:

(1)    Prevent the dust of lead, etc., from leaking to indoor workshops out of such room or equipment.

(2)   Make the structure of the floor, surrounding walls and shelves easy to clean with a vacuum cleaner or flushing water.

(Dust Collector with Filter)

Article 22.             The employer shall take the following measures for dust collectors with filters (inclusive of dust removers with filters), except those installed in places separated from the workshop where the workers need not always to enter.

(1)   Install covers on thefiltering material.

(2)   Install exhaust outlets open to the outdoors.

(3)   Install a dust remover capable of removing the powdered lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., sticking to the filtering material without removing the cover.

(Exemption for Installing Local Exhaust Ventilation System, etc.)

Article 23.             The employer, who has workers engage in the lead work listed in the following items, may choose not to install a local exhaust ventilation system or a general ventilation system in connection with the work regardless of the provisions of Article 5 through 20:

(1)   Work in an indoor workshop in which workers do not always need to enter (restricted to those which are isolated from other indoor workshops).

(2)   Work to be conducted on a visiting basis or temporary basis (restricted to the work to be completed in a short period).

(3)   Work to melt or cast lead, etc., or sintered ore, etc., in an indoor workshop where half or more of the area of the side is open.

(4)   Work to melt or cast lead or lead alloys conducted at temperatures of 450�(5)   Work to melt lead or lead alloys with their surfaces covered with lime, etc., or in a workshop equipped withexhaust ducts.