What are OELs for

Arguably this has contributed to a strong focus on technical standards in Gennany, vdiile in Italy the absence of substantial leadership from any central national authority has contributed to considerable regional diversity in regulatory practices in relation to chemical hazards. 

The UK is somewhat exceptional in the EU in that it does not have a national research institute for health and safety comparable with those found in most other EU states. 

This situation begs the question What are OELs for From our review of both the structures and processes for setting OELs in the EU and their use in the countries we have studied in more detail, it would seem that the answer is that they have a variety of functions  

Clearly this is important in sectors of industry where dangerous chemicals are in use, where substitution is not possible md specification standm-ds for machinery and processes do not mitigate the need for monitoring performance standards. Their use in these situations may have some benchmarking value for other workplaces, however, strong evidence of widespread transfer of good pmctice is hard to find. 

They are also usefiil reference tools, from a scientific/technical perspective, for large scale surveillance of exposure such as has been practiced in relation to various substances in Germany, and which has helped to contribute to understanding concerning the health effects of exposures and the consequent need to reduce them. 

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