Japanese Journal of Health Physics

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The Health Control Policy of Japan was established in 1965 by the Atomic Energy Commission and has not been revised since then. However, in 1972, a law concerning the health of elderly persons was enacted, and the recommendations of the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP), which presents the basic standards regarding radiation protection, were published. Both of these events had a very strong impact on the drafting of health control policy, as the Japanese Government was compelled to introduce a new policy aimed at reducing the risk of cancer, the greatest physical probability risk facing radiation workers. Laws governing the physical examinations of radiation workers working in nuclear power stations in Japan are divided into three groups: 1) Laws for Safety and Sanitary Conditions of Workers; 2) Laws for Health Insurance Cooperatives; and 3) Law for the Health of the Elderly. As controlling the data of these examinations is more complicated than that of the physical examinations of A-bomb survivors, a centralized registration system is needed. This paper proposes the need for such a registration system to be granted under the three laws governing special accounts for power supply municipalities and suggests setting up the system within regional medical information systems. It also proposes the founding of an overall health insurance cooperative, to be managed by the Contractors Safety Union in each municipality.

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The safety and health problems of an experimental magnetic fusion facility for a static magnetic field and variable electric and magnetic fields were considered. Static magnetic field strength was measured with a gauss meter in a large helical device (LHD) hall and outside of the 2-m concrete wall used as the radiation shield. In the case of 1.5T plasma operation, the magnetic field strength was 70mT near the cryostat and 0.05mT outside of the radiation shield. The measured magnetic strength values almost agreed with those calculated. The magnetic field strength of extremely low frequencies was measured using some commercially available monitors at the LHD site. All measured values were less than the occupational regulation levels proposed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Reasonable management of electromagnetic workplaces based on guidelines should be proposed for occupational safety, and active continuous survey is recommended for the facility.

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