Expediting OSHA's PEL-setting Process Using Risk Assessment Data Generated by Other Agencies: Lessons from California

Our national system for regulating toxic chemical hazards in the workplace is broken. We must look for new approaches Federal OSHA can use to set permissible exposure limits (PELs) for workplace chemicals. This presentation will review the findings of a government report that used accepted quantitative risk assessment methods and results already developed or evaluated by Cal-EPA for several dozen “Prop 65” chemicals as the starting point to develop workplace exposure limits. Over 100 chemicals were identified by the State of California as carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxins, but were found to be unregulated or under-regulated in an occupational setting. This presentation will also describe and evaluate approaches to expedite the setting of new PELs, requiring or using this data through the Cal/OSHA standard setting process and through legislation.