What are Occupational Exposure Limits and How Have They Developed

What are Occupational Exposure Limits and How Have They Developed  

Occupational exposure limits for airborne concentrations of hazardous substances are essentially measurable values of airborne (and therefore breathable) contmnination by chemical substances that are points of reference for the development of workplace strategies to protect workers from health risks associated with inhalation of chemical substances. Beyond this general definition lie a number of levels of complexity and contradiction. 

See fw exan le. Cook 1985, Hanson 1998, Mendelofif 1988, Piney 1998, Stokinger 1984, 1988 md 2iem and C sdeman 1988 for account of the history of the development and use 

From tile 1970s, other countries, notably those in the EU, began to develop their own lists, although the influence of the ACGIH list was still widely felt in these separate natioiml approaches. It is generally acknowledged that the TLV Ust Is the most widely circulated and significant set of exposure standards in the industrialised world and its formal and informal influence on various national policies and practice is considerable, as is evident in most of the countries we studied. 

Gmnany s limits (Maximale Arbeitsplatzkonzentrationen — MAKs) have developed separately from ACGIH and are said to be based exclusively on scientific information about health effects. Its documentation states that scientific criteria for the prevention of adverse effects on health are decisive, not technical 

---