NIOSH releases chemical management strategy
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released a chemical management strategy that it says can quickly and accurately assign chemicals into categories, or “bands,” in order to protect workers on the job. The Agency says that a vast number of chemical substances do not have occupational exposure limits (OELs) for the workplace, potentially exposing workers to substances at harmful levels.
According to NIOSH, occupational exposure banding is a voluntary process that assigns each chemical to a category based on its toxicity and any negative health outcomes associated with exposure to that chemical. The Agency’s new technical report — The NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process for Chemical Management — details the use and application of the OEL banding process and allows users to band a chemically manually or to use the occupational exposure banding e-Tool.
NIOSH says that public health agencies, practicing occupational health and safety professionals, employers, trade associations, labor organizations, and state-level programs can use the OEL process to protect workers from occupational exposures to chemicals.