S.I. No. 144/1994 - European Communities (Protection of Outside Workers From Ionising Radiation) Regulations, 1994.

S.I. No. 144 of 1994.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (PROTECTION OF OUTSIDE WORKERS FROM IONISING RADIATION) REGULATIONS, 1994.

I, BRIAN COWEN, Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directives 80/836/Euratom¹, 84/467/Euratom² and 90/641/Euratom³hereby make the following Regulations:

1 Preliminary and General.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Protection of Outside Workers from Ionising Radiation) Regulations, 1994.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 31st day of May, 1994.

2 ..

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Regulations of 1991" mean the European Communities (Ionising Radiation) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 43 of 1991 );

"competent authority" means the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland;

"Member State" means a Member State of the European Communities;

"operator" means the person responsible as defined in Regulation 2.(1) of the Regulations of 1991;

"controlled area" means any area subject to special rules for the purposes of protection against ionising radiation and to which access is controlled, as specified in Regulation 10. (3) of the Regulations of 1991;

¹ O.J. No. L246, 17.9.80.

² O.J. No. L265, 5.10.84.

³ O.J. No. L349, 13.12.90.

"outside worker" means any worker of Category A as defined in Regulation 2 of the Regulations of 1991 performing activities in any controlled areas of any operator (other than himself) and includes such a worker employed by an outside undertaking situated in another Member State;

"outside undertaking" means the employer of the outside worker;

"radiation passbook" means—

( a ) in the case of an outside worker employed by an outside undertaking in Ireland, a passbook approved for the purposes of these Regulations by the competent authority,

( b ) in the case of an outside worker employed by an outside undertaking in another Member State, a passbook authorised by the competent authority of that Member State.

3 Application.

3. These Regulations shall apply to outside workers in order to ensure that they receive the same level of protection as the Category A worker of the operator.

4 Duties of the outside undertaking.

4. (1) It shall be the duty of an outside undertaking—

( a ) to ensure compliance with the general principles and the limitation of doses outlined in Regulation 5 of the Regulations of 1991,

( b ) before commencing the work, to make suitable arrangements to obtain from the operator information about the radiological and other specific risks relevant to the intended work and to the controlled areas in which it is to be undertaken and any special training that may be required,

( c ) to ensure that the outside worker concerned has received the necessary information and training with a view to ensuring his safety in the course of that work, and

( d ) to make suitable arrangements to ensure that an estimate is made of the dose received by the worker in the course of that work.

(2) The outside undertaking shall make suitable arrangements to ensure that a continuing record of the assessment of the dose received by the outside worker is maintained throughout the period of his employment by the outside undertaking.

5 Radiation passbooks.

5. (1) The outside undertaking shall ensure that each outside worker employed by it is provided with an individual radiation passbook which shall be non-transferable and in which shall be entered the particulars set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(2) The outside undertaking shall make suitable arrangements to ensure that the particulars entered in the radiation passbook are kept up to date.

6 Duties of the operator.

6. (1) Before the commencement of work, it shall be the duty of the operator—

( a ) to ensure compliance with the general principles and the limitation of doses outlined in Regulation 5 of the Regulations of 1991,

( b ) to provide the outside undertaking with the information referred to in Regulation 4 (1) (b) of these Regulations,

( c ) to take all reasonable steps to ensure by reference to the radiation passbook or by other means that the outside worker—

(i) is medically fit to undertake the work,

(ii) has received any specific training required for the work,

(iii) has been provided with, and has been trained to use, any personal protective equipment that may be necessary for the safe performance of the work, and

(iv) receives individual exposure monitoring appropriate to the nature of the activities and any operational dosimetric monitoring that may be necessary.

(2) As soon as is reasonably practicable after the work referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation has been completed, it shall be the duty of the operator to ensure that an estimate of the dose received by the outside worker is entered into the radiation passbook of the outside worker.

7 Duties of the outside worker.

7. (1) It shall be the duty of every outside worker to—

( a ) take reasonable care of the radiation passbook issued to him, and if it is lost, report the loss forthwith to the outside undertaking,

( b ) not misuse the radiation passbook issued to him or falsify or attempt to falsify any of the information contained in it,

( c ) give the passbook to the outside undertaking immediately on leaving the employment of that undertaking or when the radiation passbook is full and requires renewal, and

( d ) make the radiation passbook available to the operator of any controlled area in which he undertakes work and to take the passbook with him when his work in that controlled area has been completed.

(2) It shall also be the duty of the outside worker to ensure that an estimate of the dose that he receives in the course of that work is either entered in his passbook or notified to the outside undertaking.

(3) Where an outside worker who has lost a passbook subsequently finds it, he shall forthwith report its finding to the outside undertaking and return that passbook to the undertaking.

8 Offences and Penalties.

8. (1) It shall be an offence for a person to contravene Regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7 of these Regulations.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

9 Prosecution of Offences.

9. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications or by the competent authority.

10 Amendment of Regulations of 1991.

10. The Regulations of 1991 are hereby amended by the insertion of the following Regulation.

"30. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications or by the competent authority."

SCHEDULE.

Information to be entered in the passbook.

1. Individual serial number.

2. A statement that the passbook has been approved by the competent authority.

3. Date of issue of the passbook.

4. Name and address of the outside undertaking.

5. Full name, date of birth, gender and PRSI number of the outside worker who will hold the passbook.

6. Date of the last medical review of the outside worker and his classification under the Regulations of 1991, as fit, fit subject to conditions (which shall be specified) or unfit.

7. Space for the insertion of the following details of each assignment undertaken by the outside worker—

( a ) name of the operator where the assignment is undertaken;

( b ) period covered by the assignment;

( c ) latest available cumulative annual dose assessment;

( d ) an estimate of any effective dose received by the outside worker;

( e ) in the event of a non-uniform exposure, an estimate of the dose equivalent in the different parts of the body;

( f ) in the event of internal contamination, an estimate of the activity taken in or the committed dose.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 29th day of April, 1994.

BRIAN COWEN,

Minister for Transport, Energy and

Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations implement Council Directive 90/64/ Euratom of 4 December, 1990 on the operational protection of outside workers exposed to the risk of ionising radiation during their activities in controlled areas.

The Regulations provide for the radiation protection of workers liable to receive an exposure of high radiation levels while working away from their employers' premises. The Regulations also apply to workers who come from, or who go to work in, another Member State of the European Community.