Lessons learned: Radiological protection for emergency workers at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi APP (part 1).

During the emergency work at the Fukushima Daiichi Atomic Power Plant (APP), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Japanese government experienced various problems in radiological exposure management for emergency workers. To improve the implementation of appropriate radiological protection, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) issued a series of compulsory directives and provided administrative guidance to TEPCO. Based on the experiences and lessons learned, the MHLW recognized that to properly manage radiological exposure should a similar accident occur at another APP, sufficient measures and systematic preparation for radiological management should be ensured, including the following: a) Should an APP accident occur, assistance from the power company's corporate office or off-site support facilities outside the evacuation area is indispensable; b) Primary contractors must independently implement exposure management operations for the employees of their sub-contractors; c) APP operators should compile an operations manual, stockpile personal protective equipment, and personal alarm dosimeters (PADs) and prepare emergency systems and whole body counters (WBCs); and the labor standards authorities should compile an emergency operations manual.