OSHA Tackling Exposure Limits Again
WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began the process today to regulate exposure levels in the workplace – this time, with chemicals.
The federal agency launched what it called “a national dialogue with stakeholders” on preventing work-related illnesses created by hazardous-substances exposure, with an aim at changing regulations on what could be thousands of workplace substances.
The move comes as changes on exposure levels to crystalline silica – with possible major consequences to hard-surface fabrication – are still being considered by OSHA.
The agency begins its new effort by requesting information concerning chemical-exposure management and updates on permissible exposure limits (PELs), which regulate the amount of a substance in the air at a workplace.
OSHA noted that 95% of its current substance PELs, covering fewer than 500 chemicals, remain unchanged since going into effect in 1971. The agency also noted, in a news release announcing the effort, that the current list covers “only a small fraction of the tens of thousands of chemicals used in commerce, many of which are suspected of being harmful.”
“Many of our chemical exposure standards are dangerously out of date and do not adequately protect workers,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. “While we will continue to work on updating our workplace exposure limits, we are asking public health experts, chemical manufacturers, employers, unions and others committed to preventing workplace illnesses to help us identify new approaches to address chemical hazards.”
Specifically, the agency is requesting suggestions on streamlined approaches for risk assessment and feasibility analyses, and alternative approaches for managing chemical exposures, including control banding, task-based approaches and informed substitution.
In the coming months, OSHA will announce additional ways for members of the public to participate in the conversation.
The comment period will continue for 180 days. Instructions for submitting comments are available in the Federal Register, Docket No. OSHA-2012-0023, at https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-24009.
For more information, please visit the OSHA Chemical Management Request for Information Web page at http://www.osha.gov/chemicalmanagement/index.html.
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