The “Bandits” Speak: NIOSH Considers Feedback from Users of Its Proposed Occupational Exposure Banding Process

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lentz, Thomas J. ; McKernan, Lauralynn T.
• Description:
  The rate at which chemicals are introduced into commerce continues to outpace the development of authoritative occupational exposure limits. Occupational exposure banding is a tool that empowers and enables occupational hygienists to address unregulated chemicals. An occupational exposure band is not meant to replace an OEL; rather, it serves as a starting point to inform risk management decisions. Given the utility of an OEB, more occupational hygiene professionals are embracing the proposed NIOSH occupational exposure banding tool and using the occupational exposure banding process to guide their risk management decisions for chemicals without OELs. Occupational exposure banding, also known as hazard banding, is a process intended to quickly and accurately assign chemicals to specific categories (bands) that correspond to a range of exposure concentrations. These bands are assigned on the basis of a chemical's toxicological potency and the adverse health effects associated with exposure to the chemical. The output of this process is an OEB. The pharmaceutical sector and some major chemical companies have used occupational exposure banding over the past several decades to establish exposure control limits or ranges for new or existing chemicals that lack formal OELs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Toxicology
• Keywords:
  Chemicals Exposure Levels Health Effects Occupational Exposure Banding Occupational Exposure Limits OELs Risk Factors Risk Management
• ISSN:
  1066-7660
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  40-42
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051559
• Citation:
  Synergist 2018 May; 29(5):40-42
• Email:
  lmckernan@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Synergist
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:df0012f753f03901fde5edb11c8b34d78bde9e912b87b99c06a236c33cbe93ff51f490a8eb4c79336f1a682a4a0c8f2b3b2f33878288b61fd0c14824d988dcf8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211455/cdc_211455_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 396.18 KB ]