Enforcement Ordinance of Pneumoconiosis Law

(Complications)

Article 1.  Complications provided for in item 2 of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Pneumoconiosis Law (called "the Law" hereinafter) shall be those which are defined below among the diseases causing complications with pneumoconiosis for the patients who come under the No. II or No. III classifications for supervision of pneumoconiosis:

(1)   Pulmonary tuberculosis

(2)   Tuberculous pleuritis

(3)   Secondary bronchitis

(4)   Secondary bronchiectasis

(5)   Secondary pneumothorax

(Dusty Work)

Article 2.  Dusty work provided for in item 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Law shall be any of those types of work which are listed in the Attached Table. However, this shall exclude work recognized under the proviso of item 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Ordinance on Prevention of Hazards Due to Dust (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No 18 of 1979).

(Clinical Examination of Chest)

Article 4.  Clinical examination of the chest provided for in item 2 of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law shall be conducted by the survey and examination as follows:

(1)   Survey of medical history

(2)   Examination of presence or absence of subjective symptoms and objective observations of the chest.

(Pulmonary Function Test)

Article 5.  Pulmonary function test provided for in item 2 of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law shall be conducted with examinations as follows:

(1)   Examination by means of spirometry and flow volume curve.

(2)   Examination by means of analyzing arterial blood gases.

2.    Examination provided for in item 2 of the preceding paragraph shall be conducted for the following persons:

(1)   Those who were diagnosed to be doubtful of having serious impediments in the pulmonary function caused by pneumoconiosis as the result of the examination conducted in line with item 1 of the preceding paragraph or the preceding Article (except those who are defined in the following item).

(2)   Those who are diagnosed to have Category III or Category IV of the radiographic appearances (restricted to the shadow, the size of which is less than one third of total lung area on either side).

(Detailed Examination for Tuberculosis)

Article 6.  The detailed examination for tuberculosis provided for in item 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law of the Law shall be conducted as follows:
However, same examinations which are deemed unnecessary by medical doctor may be omitted.

(1)   Examination for tubercle bacillus

(2)   Special radiographic examination

(3)   Erythrocyte sedimentation rate test

(4)   Tuberculin skin test

(Exemption from Examination for Complications Other Than Pulmonary Tuberculosis)

Article 7.  The examinations provided for by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance on the basis of item 3, paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law shall be those medical doctor deems necessary in examinations defined below:

(1)   Examination for tubercle bacillus

(2)   Examination of sputum

(3)   Special radiographic examination

(Exemption from Pulmonary Function Test)

Article 8.  Persons provided for by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance based on proviso of paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Law shall be defined as follows:

(1)   Those who are diagnosed to be suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis by the examination provided for in Article 6.

(2)   Those who are observed to have symptoms of pneumoconiosis and are concurrently suffering from diseases stated in items 2 through 5 of Article 1 as the results of the survey and examination provided for in item 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law, or the examination provided for in the preceding Article or examination prescribed Article 4.