From: Occupational Health & Safety
SAN ANTONIO — Whether OSHA ever will update its permissible exposure limits (PELs) is debatable. The agency has tried before without success, and it agrees that these 40-year-old exposure limits are outdated and inadequate – so much so that it recommends that employers voluntarily adhere to NIOSH and ACGIH recommended limits and to Cal/OSHA’s PELs list.
Updating the OSHA PELs has been AIHA’s top regulatory priority for the past 20 years, AIHA Government Affairs Director Aaron Trippler said during a June 4 press briefing at the 2014 American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo. Trippler added that some progress has been made recently: The Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety & Health has recommended that OSHA ask President Obama to issue an executive order requiring federal departments to be guided by updated PELs, and OSHA has submitted to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs a document that asks stakeholders to submit comments on how the OSHA PELs can be updated. (OIRA has to clear regulatory documents for publication.)