New safety rules for outdoor nuclear workers

Japan's health ministry will introduce safety guidelines to protect workers who clean up radioactive substances around the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Existing guidelines target only those working indoors at the plant.

Citizens groups had complained that the ministry was not doing enough to minimize the exposure of workers who engage in decontamination outdoors.

The new guidelines will require outdoor clean-up workers to wear protective masks and carry dosimeters to monitor radiation.

The ministry says it will work to ensure that the rules are upheld, as efforts to decontaminate farmland and residential areas near the Daiichi plant will soon begin in earnest.