OSHA issues final rule on hexavalent chromium exposure limit.On Feb. 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. agency established (1970) in the Dept. of Labor (see Labor, United States Department of) to develop and enforce regulations for the safety and health of workers in businesses that are engaged in interstate (OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. ) issued final rules that set a new permissible exposure limit The Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL or OSHA PEL) is a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a substance, usually expressed in parts per million (ppm), or sometimes in milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m3). (PEL) for hexavalent chromium Hexavalent chromium or Cr(VI) compounds are those which contain the element chromium in the +6 oxidation state. Chromates are often used as pigments for photography, and in pyrotechnics, dyes, paints, inks, and plastics. (CrVI), Required by a 2003 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling, the new rule would set the CrVI PEL at 5 micrograms per cubic meter Noun 1. cubic meter - a metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 1000 liters cubic metre, kiloliter, kilolitre metric capacity unit - a capacity unit defined in metric terms of air ([micro]g/[m.sup.3]) with an action level of 2.5 [micro]g/[m.sup.3]. Hexavalent chromium compounds are widely used in the industry as ingredients and catalysts in pigments, metal plating Noun 1. metal plating - a thin coating of metal deposited on a surface plating coating, coat - a thin layer covering something; "a second coat of paint" gold plate - a thin plating of gold on something and chemical synthesis. This new rule will impose substantially higher costs on the businesses that work with CrVI. Although OSHA acknowledges that 5 [micro]g/[m.sup.3] still amounts to a significant health risk, the agency maintains that the PEL set in the final rules is the lowest level that is economically and technologically feasible. However, Public Citizen and other consumer groups, which were seeking a 0.25 [micro]g/[m.sup.3], are planning to sue OSHA, claiming that a much more stringent standard was economically feasible. Businesses that will be seriously harmed by the new rules are expected to pursue legal challenges to the rule as well. The final standards become effective on May 30, 2006, but startup dates for the rule's provisions are staggered from Nov. 30, 2006 through May 31, 2010, depending on the size of the facility. In addition, employers will have four years to implement engineering controls. For a copy of the final rule, visit: www. osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/ hex_regulatory_text.html |
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