Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

The Committee recalls that in a communication of December 1995 the Government has indicated that a comprehensive report was being compiled and would be forwarded shortly. The Committee notes that no report was since received. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide a report for examination by the Committee at its next session containing full information on the following points raised in its previous direct request.

1. The Committee noted the Government's indication that information concerning the measures to be taken in abnormal circumstances would be supplied in the Government's next report. The Committee also recalls from an earlier report that devising an emergency plan in case of accidents involving radioactive material is one of the functions of the Advisory Committee established since June 1978, which is also to keep records of designated radiation workers, their terms of employment, medical examinations, etc., and of sources of radiation, their type and location, as well as to register and license industrial sources. With regard to emergency planning, the Committee would call the Government's attention to paragraphs 16 to 27 of its 1992 general observation under the Convention concerning occupational exposure during and after an emergency and requests the Government to indicate the steps taken or contemplated in relation to the matters raised in its conclusions, particularly under paragraph 35(c).

2. Under Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention, all appropriate steps shall be taken to ensure effective protection of workers against ionizing radiation and to review maximum permissible doses of ionizing radiation in the light of current knowledge. Referring to its general observation under the Convention, the Committee would draw the Government's attention to the revised dose limits for exposure to ionizing radiation established on the basis of new physiological findings by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its 1990 Recommendations and contained also in the 1994 Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources of 1994, developed under the auspices of the IAEA, ILO and WHO, and three other international organizations, which are based on the ICRP recommendations. In its report for the period ending 30 June 1992, the Government had indicated that the revisions made in 1972 to the United Kingdom Code of Practice for the Protection of Persons against Ionizing Radiation arising from Medical and Dental Use were being followed in Barbados. The United Kingdom has indicated in its latest reports that it was revising its Code of Practice concerning the exposure of persons to ionizing radiation in light of the new ICRP recommendations. The Government is requested to indicate the steps taken or being considered in relation to the matters raised in the conclusions to the general observation.

3. In earlier reports, the Government had indicated that the only work involving exposure to ionizing radiation in Barbados was in the medical field. The Government has indicated in its latest report that no progress has been made in licensing and registering industrial sources of radiation. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the activities of the Advisory Committee referred to in point 1 above, including details of the records kept by that Committee concerning radiation workers and sources of radiation, within and outside the medical field.