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36. Measurement of the working environment
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To accurately know the working environment of a workplaces is an important first step in health care, and the Industrial Safety and Health Law requires periodic measurement of various environmental conditions.
Particularly for the environmental measurement of a workplace where a harmful substance, etc. is handled, it is necessary to understand the working methods, etc., and to have advanced knowledge and techniques concerning the establishment of measuring places, the handling of measuring instruments, etc. Therefore, in addition to the Industrial Safety and Health Law, the Working Environment Measurement Law stipulates the qualifications of measuring persons, adequate evaluation of measurement results, etc. (The Industrial Safety and Health Law, Article 65, the Working Environment Measurement Law, the Enforcement Order of Working Environment Measurement Law, and the Enforcement Ordinance on Working Environment Measurement Law) |
1.Work places requiring measurement of the working environment according
to the standards established by the Minister (Enforcement Order of Industrial
Safety and Health Law, Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health, Articles
587 to 592, 603, 605, 607 and 612)
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| The following places require measurement of the working environment according
to the standards established by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare: |
| a. |
Indoor workplaces where dust from earth and rock, minerals, metals, or
carbons are remarkably emitted |
| b. |
Extremely hot, extremely cold, or highly humid indoor workplaces |
| c. |
Extremely noisy indoor workplaces |
| d. |
Workplaces located in pits |
| e. |
Indoor workplaces where a specified chemical substance, etc. is produced
or handled, or workplaces where coke is produced |
| f. |
Workplaces involving radiation work |
| g. |
Indoor workplaces where a specified chemical substance, etc. is produced
or handled, or workplaces where coke is produced |
| h. |
Indoor workplaces for lead-handling work |
| i. |
Hazardous workplaces of anoxia |
| j. |
Workplaces where an organic solvent is produced or handled |
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2. Measurement standards (Industrial Safety and Health Law, Article 65-2)
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Measurement of the working environment must be carried out according to the notification, "Working Environment Measurement Standard" from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
The Working Environment Measurement Standard specifies the methods of collecting air samples (liquid, solid, direct, cooling condensation, and filtration collection methods), the design of sampling points, analytical methods, etc. |
3. Evaluation of measurement results (Industrial Safety and Health Law,
Article 65-2)
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| Among the workplaces requiring measurement of the working environment,
the measurement results of indoor workplaces of (1)-a, g, h and j are evaluated
for general classification into the following three classes, according
to the notification, the "Working Environment Evaluation Standard"
from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: |
| a. |
Control class I: cases where the first evaluation value is compared with
the administrative control level specified for each substances to be measured
and found to be lower than the administrative control level (note 1)
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| b. |
Control class II: cases where the first evaluation value is equal to or
more than the administrative control level and where the second evaluation
value is equal to or less than the administrative control level (note 2) |
| c. |
Control class III: cases where the second evaluation value is more than
the administrative control level
| Note |
1: Administrative control levels (examples): |
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| (1) |
Dust from earth and rock, minerals, etc.
E (mg/m3) = 2.9/0.22Q + 1
E: Administrative control level
Q: Free silica content of the dust (%) |
| (2) |
Acrylamide: 2 ppm |
| (3) |
Asbestos: 2 fibers/m3 as fibers of 5 micrometers or more |
| (4) |
Chlorine: 0.5 ppm |
| (5) |
Nitroglycol: 0.05 ppm |
| (6) |
Hydrogen sulfide: 10 ppm |
| (7) |
Xylene: 100 ppm |
| (8) |
Carbon tetrachloride: 5 ppm |
| (9) |
Toluene: 50 ppm
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| Note |
2: The first evaluation value and the second evaluation value are calculated
based on the measured value using the geometric mean value and the geometric
standard deviation. (The formulae are omitted.) |
| Note |
3: Measurement can be either A sampling (measured at 50 to 150 centimeters
above the intersections of lengthwise lines and crosswise lines drawn at
intervals of 6 meters or less on the workplace floor) or B sampling (measured
at the time when concentration is highest). (Details are omitted.) |
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4. Improvement measures (Industrial Safety and Health Law, Article 65-2;
The Ordinance on Prevention of Organic Solvent Poisoning, 28-3, etc.)
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| Based on the evaluation results of (3), the employer must take the following
actions: |
| a. |
In the case of Control class III :
| · |
The facilities, equipment, working processes and working methods should
be immediately inspected, and based on the results, facilities, etc. should
be installed or improved (local exhaust equipment, etc.), and the working
processes or working methods should be improved to enhance the class to
the level of control class I or control class II. |
| · |
Employers should let workers use effective respirators and undergo health
examinations, etc. |
|
| b. |
In the case of Control class II
| · |
The facilities, equipment, working processes and working methods should
be inspected, and based on the results, facilities should be installed
or improved (local exhaust equipment, etc.), and the working processes
or working methods should be improved to enhance the class to the level
of control class I. |
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5. Working environment measurement experts and working environment measurement
agencies (Working Environment measurement Law, Articles 2, 3, 5, 7 and
33; The Enforcement Order of Working Environment Measurement Law, Article
1; Enforcement Order of Working Environment Measurement Law,, Articles
3, 5-7, 52 and 53)
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| a. |
Working environment measurement experts and working environment measurement
agencies (Working Environment measurement Law, Articles 2, 3, 5, 7 and
33; The Enforcement Order of Working Environment Measurement Law, Article
1; Enforcement Order of Working Environment Measurement Law,, Articles
3, 5-7, 52 and 53)
| (a) |
Class-1 working environment measurement experts
Measurement and analysis of indoor workplaces of (1)-a, g, h and j and other working environments
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| (b) |
Class-2 working environment measurement experts
Measurement of the working environment of indoor workplaces of (1)-a, f, g, h and j (excluding analysis) and measurement of other working environments
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| b. |
Qualification of working environment measurement experts
| (a) |
A person who has passed the working environment measurement expert examination,
has completed the training course designated by the Minister of Health,
Labour and Welfare or the Director General of the Prefectural Labour Bureau
concerned, and is registered as a working environment measurement expert
in a designated registration agency
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| (b) |
A person recognized to be equal or superior to (a) by the Minister of Health,
Labour and Welfare
| · |
A person who has completed a university science course, has graduated from
university, and is or has been a professor or assistant professor for measurement
of air environment or other environment, at a university or higher technical
school
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| · |
A person who has completed a university science course, has graduated from
university, and has been engaged in the measurement of air environment
or other environment for 10 years or more at a research institute established
by the national government, local government, or based on the provisions
of the Civil Law, etc.
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| c. |
Working environment measurement agencies
| (a) |
Registration
A person who is going to measure the working environment in response to
a request from the workplace must be registered with the national government.
| · |
In the case of measurements made within one prefecture only, registration
can be done with the Director General of the Prefectural Labour Bureau
concerned. |
| · |
In the case of measurements made in two or more prefectures, registration
should be done with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. |
|
| (b) |
Registration requirements
| · |
For measurement of the indoor workplaces stipulated in the Ordinance on
Prevention of Hazardous to Dust, etc., the radioactive substance-handling
workrooms, the indoor workplaces for producing specified chemical substances,
etc., the indoor workplaces for lead-handling work, and the indoor workplaces
for organic solvent work, there must be a registered class-1 working environment
measurement expert. |
| · |
The instruments and equipment necessary for measurement and analysis of
the working environment should be provided exactly as required. |
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| 6. Other improvement measures, etc. |
| a. |
For workplaces other than the workplaces of said (1)-a, f, g and j, it
is necessary, for example, to improve facilities and equipment, to improve
working processes and methods, and to use effective protective equipment,
based on the working environment measurement results.
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| b. |
For measurement of the working environment, it is obligatory, for example,
to measure at stipulated cycles and to preserve the records. |
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(The next article in this series covers industrial accident prevention organizations.)
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