OccuSafe Industrial Hygiene Consulting

In the United States, occupational exposure limits are set by governmental organizations such as OSHA and the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) as well as private organizations such as the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). 
 
For many years, American standards, especially those provided by the ACGIH, were accepted internationally. In recent years, the amount of occupational research outside of the US has increased and, in some cases, the standards set in other countries have met or exceeded those in the US. In Europe, there are two types of occupational exposure limits for chemical agents: EU community exposure limits and national exposure limits. The community limits are set by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) of the European Union. The ECHA has issued four directives which include occupational exposure limits for 19, 33, 61, and 10 chemical substances, respectively. The member states are required to establish national occupational exposure limit values for listed chemical agents, taking into account community values. National exposure limit values may be different from the community values.
 
When trying to limit occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals, industrial hygienists and safety professionals, refer to standards set by  domestic organizations. However, occupational exposure limits are not always available, especially on materials manufactured by non-US suppliers. For example, the ECHA has limits for Bisphenol A, n-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethanol that are not set by the ACGIH. One way to quickly find these standards is to go to the GESTIS website. GESTIS is the Information system on hazardous substances of the German Social Accident Insurance organization.  It has OELS from countries including the United States, European Union, Europe, Australia, Canada, and China.
 
It is in everyone’s interest to best protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials. Employers should allow industrial hygienists and safety professionals to use the best available standards, whether domestic or foreign.