Workplace health protection from "suspected" harmful materials

Approximately 500 Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) have been established and accepted by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A list of chemicals, which are suspected to be harmful to workers is much longer, it includes over 2,000 substances. These are potential carcinogens, mutagens, reprotoxins, neurotoxins, and other extremely dangerous chemicals.

A well-known example, when the death of a worker and warnings from a safety expert were not enough for the manufacturer to abandon such extremely toxic chemical as diacetyl was analyzed. It was found, this tragedy could be possible because diacetyl was only a “suspected” contributor to the potentially fatal respiratory disease and OSHA had limited regulatory tools to control these “suspected” harmful materials.

Three levels of required response to this issue were investigated. The first is OSHA inspection and consulting level. Specific actions were suggested for compliance officers and consultants to fill the need based on existing regulation clauses and inspection technique. The second is regulatory level. It includes updating regulations/PELs and establishing temporary regulation criteria for broadly used chemicals and materials, especially for those known to cause negative effects in humans. Adaptation of international standards can also be considered. The third level is a broad public support. It was suggested, that on this stage, American Public Health Association could be a good asset for liaisons with other public health organizations and connecting people, expertise, and finances to areas of identified need for better protection of employees in the “grey” zone of operation with these “suspected” harmful materials.