Overtime & death for a nuclear worker in his 40s

October 20, 2016

Death of utility worker confirmed work-related

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20161020_29/

Japanese labor authorities have officially linked the death of an employee of a nuclear power plant operator to his excessive work hours.

The male employee of Kansai Electric Power Company in his 40s killed himself in April at a Tokyo hotel while on a business trip.

A regional labor standards inspection office on Thursday recognized his death as work-related and eligible for compensation.

His workload began to increase this year as he was in charge of applying for approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority to extend operations of old reactors at his company's Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The facility's number 1 and 2 reactors are more than 40 years old.

Regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident ban extended operation of reactors beyond 40 years unless their safety measures meet new criteria.

Sources say the man had worked well over 100 hours of overtime a month since January.

His overtime work totaled at least 200 hours in February and 150 hours over 19 days in April right before his death.

His role included negotiating with the secretariat of the nuclear authority and doing paperwork to complete procedures for approval by a deadline in July.