Occupational Health

Preventing Exposure to Harmful Substances

We are committed to reducing occupational health risks and improving working conditions by, for example, utilizing the Occupational Safety and Health Management System scheme, the harmful chemical substance risk assessment (new risk assessment system) established in fiscal 2015, through onsite inspections conducted by industrial physicians and health supervisors as well as by means of internal audits. In addition, the Group is also making preparations for autonomous chemical management that will be enforced in the future in a planned manner.

Risk Assessment

The reformed Industrial Safety and Health Act now requires reinforcement of risk assessments of chemical hazards and implementation of countermeasures. Our conventional risk assessment system was updated to create a new system, and since fiscal 2016, we have been conducting a risk assessment of working with harmful substances (inhalant chemicals) using the new system. The total number of completed qualitative risk assessment cases by fiscal 2021 marked 13,311, and we have finished all qualitative risk assessments. Of these, 3,085 cases were identified to be of high risk and we have completed quantitative assessments on 2,931 cases. Work procedures that have been judged to be of high risk as a result of the quantitative assessment, have been subject to methodical reforms to reduce the risks involved. In addition, we also built specific risk assessments for health problems newly caused by the absorption of chemical substances through the skin in fiscal 2018 in response to a rise in social concern about absorption of hazardous chemicals through the skin. In fiscal 2019, we started this assessments and have completed the all assessment of 3,980 cases in fiscal 2021. Based on the assessment results, we are reviewing facility response and working procedures as well as selecting protectors with more appropriate shielding and durability to reduce risks.
We plan to conduct qualitative assessments on new procedures in fiscal 2022 and also to follow up quantitative assessments on the remaining 154 cases of those 3,085 high-risk cases.

Working environment improvement example (1) - Sampling of specific chemical substances

Before

After blow cleaning the container, the bottles were rinsed with the target chemical first before actual sampling procedures were carried out. This presents contact risks not only with airborne particles but also from spills.

After

The risk was improved to Level I after upgrading the equipment so that the sample cylinder can be blow-cleaned, rinsed along with the target chemicals, and sampled while still fully sealed.

Working environment improvement example (2) - Sampling of specific chemical substances

Before

Procedures are sampled in a sampling box that involves opening and closing a door. This presents contact risks with airborne particles when the door is open.

After

The risk was improved to Level I after the sampling box was sealed so that sampling can be performed in the box.