OSHA Warns that Worker Exposure Standards are Out-of-Date

Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a news release that stated, “While many chemicals are suspected of being harmful, OSHA’s exposure standards are out-of-date and inadequately protective for the small number of chemicals that are regulated in the workplace.”
 
In response, OSHA has created a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones and created another new web resource: the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits, or annotated PEL tables.  The annotated PEL tables enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits.
 
Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, reported, “There is no question that many of OSHA’s chemical standards are not adequately protective.  I advise employers, who want to ensure that their workplaces are safe, to utilize the occupational exposure limits on these annotated tables, since simply complying with OSHA’s antiquated PELs will not guarantee that workers will be safe"
 
The annotated PEL tables provide a side-by-side comparison of OSHA PELs for general industry to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health PELs, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended exposure limits and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist threshold limit values.
 
One company that has decades of experience helping to protect workers from chemical hazards and other occupational risks is Clark Seif Clark (CSC).  “CSC’s occupational hygiene professionals are experts at identifying and testing for chemical hazards and biological threats,” reported Franco Seif, President of Clark Seif Clark.  “We applaud OSHA’s recognition of the need for better protection for our nation’s workforce.  CSC has professionals ready to assist companies and agencies who take note of OSHA’s new annotated PEL tables to ensure that workers are not being exposed to harmful substances.”
 
To learn more about OSHA’s new annotated PEL tables or other occupational health and safety issues, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. 
 
About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address environmental, IAQ, and health and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.

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Paul Cochrane

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Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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