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Ordinance on Prevention of Health Impairment due to Asbestos

Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, No.21 (24, February 2005)

Last Update : 2007.11.28

Chapter VI Medical Examinations

Article 40 (Implementation of Medical Examination)
  • (1) The employer shall, to a worker who is regularly engaged in the work set forth in item 3(iii) of paragraph (1) of Article 22 of Cabinetthe Order (limited to work involving handling asbestos, etc., or work involving manufacturing them for the sake of research or examination), provide a medical examination by physician for the following issues items at the time when employed or transferred to the said work, and once within 6 months thereafter.
    • (i) Survey of work history
    • (ii) Past history of cough, sputum, shortness of breath, chest pain, or other objective or subjective symptoms due to asbestos
    • (iii) Past history of cough, sputum, shortness of breath, chest pain, or other objective or subjective symptoms
    • (iv) Chest X-rays
  • (2)The employer shall, to a worker who had been regularly engaged in the work set forth in paragraph (2) of Article 22 of Cabinet the Order (limited to works related to substances listed in item 1(i)-2 of the same paragraph or substances listed in item 23(xxiii) of the same paragraph (limited to the substances listed in related to item (i)1-2 of the same paragraph)) and who is still employed by the said employer, provide a medical examination by a physician for the issues listed in the preceding paragraph periodically once within six months thereafter.
  • (3) The employer shall, to a worker who has objective symptoms, complains of subjective symptoms or has other suspected abnormalities as a result of the medical examination set forth in preceding two paragraphs and is deemed necessary for a physician, provide the medical examination by the physician for following items:
    • (i) Survey of work conditions
    • (ii) Special X-ray, cytological examinations of sputum, or bronchoscopies when abnormalities are identified as a result of a chest X-ray (excluding changes in fibroplasia due to lung asbestosis) and those examinations are deemed necessary by the physician.
Article 41 (Recording of Results of Medical Examination)
  • (1) The employer shall fill out individual medical examination cards on asbestos (Form No.2) based on the result of medical examinations set forth in each item of the preceding Article (including results of medical examinations undergone by workers concerned in accordance with in the case set forth in the proviso of paragraph (5) of Article 66-4 of the Act,and referred to in the following article as gmedical examination concerning asbestosh in the next Article) and shall keep reserve the cards for 40 years from the date when the said employee ceases to work regularly in the relevant work at the said workshop.
Article 42 (Hearing of the Physicianfs View concerning the Results of the Medical Examination)
  • (1) The hearing of the physicianfs view based on the results of the medical examination concerning asbestos pursuant to the provisions of Article 66-4 of the Act shall be carried out prescribed as follows
    • (i) To carry out the hearing within three months of the date of medical examination concerning the asbestos (where the proviso of paragraph (5) of Article 66 of the Act applies, the date when the said worker submitted to the employer the document certifying the results of the medical examination).
    • (ii) To record the views of the physician on the individual medical examination cards on asbestos.
Article 42-2 (Notification of Results of Medical Examination)
  • (1) The employer shall notify without delay the worker who underwent the medical examination set forth in each of the items of Article 40, of the results without delay.
Article 43 (Report on Results of Medical Examination)
  • (1) The employer shall, when having had workers undergone a medical examination set forth in each item of Article 40 (limited to periodical examinations), without delay, submit a report on the results of medical examinations concerning asbestos (Form No.3) to the Chief of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.
 
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