Rules and recent trends for setting health-based occupational exposure limits for chemicals

Abstract

The working environment is the special case of the non-natural environment created by man in which the increased production activity brings about the concentration of stimulators particularly aggressive to the human organism, such as chemical hazards, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and finally, intensified psychological and emotional stress. Depending on the nature and intensity, working environment factors have been classified into dangerous, harmful and annoying. The workers are more and more frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals in the working environment. The chemicals cause many diseases including, in the 1st place, respiratory insufficiency, inflammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders and neoplastic diseases. Occupational exposure limit values (OELs), the main criteria for occupational exposure assessment, constitute an important factor for the safe use of chemicals in the working environment. In Poland, to date there are 524 chemical substances and 19 dusts for which maximum admissible concentrations (MAC) have been established. THE HISTORYThe history of establishing occupational exposure levels for agents harmful to health in the working environment in Poland begins around 1956. There were 14 substances for which maximum admissible concentration (MAC) values were established without documentation [1]. The values did not differ from those which were at that time valid in the Soviet Union.

The Role of the Polish Interdepartmental Commission for the Maximum Admissible Concentrations and Intensities for Agents Harmful to Health in the Working Environment in the Development of Safe Working Conditions

“…When preparing the documentation, the experts use original bibliographic materials obtained from: computer information databases (e.g. TOXLINE, MEDLINE, CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS), documentation prepared in the USA, Germany, Sweden, materials of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), documentation of the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) and RAC Committee of the European Union as well as from many journals and unpublished documents [2].…”

Technical report: the NIOSH occupational exposure banding process for chemical risk management.

“…Self-reactive substance: a thermally unstable liquid or solid liable to undergo a strongly exothermic thermal decomposition even without participation of oxygen (air) Serious eye damage: the production of tissue damage in the eye or serious physical decay of vision, following application of a test substance to the front surface of the eye that is not fully reversible within 21 days of application [Schulte et al 2010;Nikfar and Malekirad 2014;Skowroń and Czerczak 2015;Deveau et al 2015;Cook 1987;Paustenbach 1998]. Occupational hygienists develop and implement control strategies largely based on the relevant OELs that are available to them.…”

Priority: safe working conditions

“…Wiążące dopuszczalne wartości narażenia zawodowego ustalane przez UE dla substancji rakotwórczych/ /mutagennych uwzględniają oprócz danych naukowych także uwarunkowania socjoekonomiczne i techniczne możliwości osiągnięcia stężeń tych substancji na stanowiskach pracy w przemyśle. Państwa członkowskie muszą wskazać odpowiednie wartości krajowe dla substancji, dla których ustalono BOELV (takie same lub mniejsze, ale nie większe, niż w UE) [2]. W załączniku do Dyrektywy Komisji (UE) 2017/164 z dnia 31 stycznia 2017 r., ustanawiającej czwarty wykaz wskaźnikowych dopuszczalnych wartości narażenia zawodowego zgodnie z dyrektywą Rady 98/24/WE oraz zmieniającej dyrektywy Komisji 91/322/EWG, 2000/39/WE i 2009/161/UE, podano IOELV dla 31 substancji chemicznych [3].…”