Abstract
Studying the crisis management systems of other developed countries has been effective in clarifying what the position and roles of occupational health and safety functions should be in the crisis management system in Japan. In addition to previous studies on the US system, we studied the UK system. We gathered relevant information by visiting the headquarters of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), as well as obtaining information available via the internet. In the UK, the crisis management system was developed based on the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004, which regulated the system of planning and actual correspondence. The system was established with a framework that is consistent at both the national and local levels regardless of the type of crisis. The HSE has health and safety experts involved in all aspects and levels of the crisis management system. The HSE and ONR also assist in emergency planning for serious accidents involving chemical and radioactive substances. We observed the following three common features for ensuring the health and safety of crisis responders in the US and UK: 1) establishing an all-hazard model, a common crisis response system for all types of crisis, 2) ensuring functions to protect the health and safety of workers in a crisis at the national and local levels, 3) ensuring provision of expertise on health and safety for effective management during a crisis. These findings should be used to improve the system in Japan.
