Radiation Workers Now Require Only One Health Checkup... Redundant Examinations by Different Ministries Abolished

Revised Regulations by Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Take Effect on July 9

Mutual Recognition to Be Applied to Four Blood Test Items

The inconvenience experienced by workers involved in radiation-related work—having to undergo repeated health checkups when changing jobs or duties—will be eliminated. The government has standardized the health examination items and forms, which previously differed across ministries, and introduced a system of mutual recognition of test results, effectively abolishing redundant examinations in principle.

Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on July 8 that they have completed revisions to their respective regulations to improve the health examination system for workers handling radiation-emitting devices such as X-rays. The amended regulations will take effect simultaneously starting from July 9.

The revisions apply to the following: the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Diagnostic Radiation-Emitting Devices" under the Ministry of Health and Welfare; the "Enforcement Regulations of the Nuclear Safety Act" and the "Standards on Radiation Protection, etc." under the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission; and the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Animal Diagnostic Radiation-Emitting Devices" under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

This amendment standardizes the blood test items and forms for health examinations, which previously varied by ministry, and establishes a system for mutual recognition of health examination results. Until now, workers handling radiation-emitting devices were required to undergo new examinations, even if they had already completed a health checkup, whenever they changed jobs or duties and became subject to different regulations.

To address this issue, the government has mandated that four essential blood test items—hemoglobin level, red blood cell count, white blood cell count, and platelet count—be uniformly applied across all relevant regulations. In addition, an integrated form has been prepared so that medical interviews, clinical examinations, blood tests, and additional tests can all be reviewed at a glance.

Furthermore, the government has explicitly included a provision for mutual recognition, stipulating that health examination results conducted under other laws, such as the Medical Service Act, are also recognized as health examinations under the Nuclear Safety Act. As a result, workers engaged in radiation-related work will no longer need to repeat identical health examinations even if the applicable regulations change.

To minimize confusion at worksites during the initial implementation of the system, the government has introduced transitional measures, allowing the use of existing health examination forms until December 31.

A government official stated, "With the simultaneous implementation of these revised regulations, we expect the burden of redundant examinations for radiation-related workers changing jobs or duties to be greatly reduced. We will operate transitional measures regarding forms through the end of the year to give employers, workers, and medical institutions sufficient time to prepare, and we will strengthen guidance and publicity to ensure the stable establishment of the system on the ground."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.