The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise its standards for occupational exposure to lead, according to www.osha.gov.
Recent medical research on workplace lead exposure shows adverse health effects can occur in adults at lower blood lead levels than recognized previously in the medical removal levels specified in OSHA’s lead standards.
The proposed rulemaking seeks public input regarding modifying current OSHA lead standards for general industry and construction to reduce the triggers for medical removal protection and medical surveillance and more effectively prevent harmful health effects in workers exposed to lead.
OSHA asks the public to comment on the following areas of the lead standards:
- Blood lead level triggers for medical removal protection
- Medical surveillance provisions, including triggers and frequency of blood lead monitoring
- Permissible exposure limit
- Ancillary provisions for personal protective equipment, housekeeping, hygiene and training
The proposed rulemaking also will gather comments regarding employers’ current practices that address workplace lead exposure, associated costs and other areas of interest.
NRCA was active in the lead standard’s rulemaking process and will be working with its Health and Safety Committee to determine how or whether to respond to this action.
Read the Federal Register notice for submission instructions. Submit comments online by Aug. 29 on the federal e-Rulemaking portal and refer to Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004.
