Cal/OSHA Proposes Revisions to Workplace Lead Exposures Standards

On March 3, 2023, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA Board) proposed to revise the standards for workplace exposure to lead for the general industry and construction industries. With the revisions, Cal/OSHA cited a need to adequately protect employees who are exposed to lead in their occupations.

This proposal would reduce the employee blood lead level (BLL) limit from 40  micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood (µg/dl) to 10 µg/dl. To achieve this goal, the proposed amendments would:

Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Cal/OSHA through April 20, 2023.

Existing Regulations

Existing requirements in sections 1532.1, 5155 and 5198 are based on federal regulations that were promulgated in 1978 for Lead in General Industry and 1993 for Lead in Construction. These standards use lead toxicity, medical and epidemiological data that is now more than 40 years old. More recent evidence demonstrates that harmful health effects can occur even at exposure levels well below those currently allowed by existing regulations.

Existing title 8 regulations establish a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for lead of 50 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) concentration (1532.1(c); 5198(c); 5155 Table AC-1). The TWA is a method used in the field of occupational safety and health to calculate a worker’s daily exposure to hazardous substances. To calculate 8-hour TWA values, employers must take the total exposure to a hazardous substance during a workday and divide that total by 8- hours.

Cal/OSHA’s lead regulations also establish:

• An action level for lead of 30 µg/m3 (1532.1(b); 5198(b));
• Hygiene requirements for employees exposed above the PEL (1532.1(i); 5198(i));
• Medical surveillance requirements based on employee exposure at or above the action level for more than 30 days per year (1532.1(j); 5198(j)); and
• A medical removal level of 50 micrograms of lead per deciliter (µg/dl) of whole blood (1532.1(k); 5198(k)).

In 2010 and 2013, the California Department of Public Health made health-based recommendations to Cal/OSHA for revising the construction and general industry lead standards. The recommendations were provided to increase the protection of workers who are exposed to lead on the job.

As a result of these recommendations, Cal/OSHA initiated the present rulemaking. Cal/OSHA developed this proposal with the assistance of advisory stakeholders by means of six advisory committee meetings and the release of multiple discussion drafts to ensure the proposal provides sufficient protection for employees while providing employers with sufficient flexibility to address these risks “in the least burdensome manner.”

Construction Lead Standard Revisions

The construction lead standard applies to all construction work where an employee may be occupationally exposed to lead. All construction work excluded from coverage in the general industry standard for lead by section 5198(a)(2) is covered by this standard.

The main revisions of this standard would include:

• Lowering the action level, which triggers certain required protective measures, from 30 µg/m3 as an 8-hour TWA to 2 µg/m3 as an 8-hour TWA (subsection (b));
• Adding and defining the terms “altering or disturbing,” “blood lead level,” and “high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter” (subsection (b));
• Adding and defining the terms “level 1 trigger task,” “level 2 trigger task,” “level 3 trigger task,” and “trigger task – not listed,” which, until an employee exposure assessment is completed, assumes a certain level of employee exposure and triggers certain required protective measures (see subsection (b) for definitions), and revising the listing of specified tasks (subsection (d)(2));
• Lowering the PEL for lead, calculated as an 8-hour TWA, from 50 µg/m3 to 10 µg/m3 (subsection (c)(1));
• Establishing general hygiene requirements when employees have occupational exposure to lead rather than exposure to lead above the PEL (subsection (i)(1)(A));
• Removing the requirement to provide zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) testing on a routine basis when blood lead testing is provided (subsection (j)(2)(A));
• Requiring medical examinations (subsection (j)(1)(B)(2)), regulated areas (subsection (i)(6)(A)), eating areas (subsection (i)(4)(A)) and a lead training program (subsection (l)(1)(B)(3)), as interim protection based on performing trigger tasks, and additional protections when employees conduct level 3 trigger tasks (subsections (i)(3)(A) and (j)(2)(A)(5));
• Reducing the duration of specified work that triggers the requirement to implement medical surveillance for employees (subsection (j)(1)(B));
• Increasing the frequency of BLL testing to be provided for employees when their BLL is at or above 10 µg/dl or their airborne exposure is above 500 µg/m3 (subsection (j)(2)(A)) and requiring a response plan when an employee’s BLL is at or above 10 µg/dl (subsection (j)(2)(E)(1));
• Lowering the BLL at which specified employees must be offered medical examinations and consultations at least annually from 40 µg/dl to 20 µg/dl (subsection (j)(3)(A)(1));
• Requiring the employer to ensure that employees receive specified health information from the ordering or examining physician following a blood lead test (subsection (j)(2)(D)) or medical examination (subsection (j)(3)(E));
• Lowering the criteria for temporary removal from work with lead due to elevated BLLs, known as medical removal protection (MRP), from 50 µg/dl to one BLL at or above 30 µg/dl, or effective one year after the effective date , the last two BLLs are at or above 20 µg/dl or the average of all BLLs in the last six months is at or above 20 µg/dl (subsection (k)(1)(A));
• Expanding the type of work that employees on MRP must be removed from to include performing trigger tasks and altering and disturbing lead-containing material (subsection (k)(1)(A)), in addition to existing requirements;
• Lowering the BLL that employees must achieve before returning from MRP to work involving lead from 40 µg/dl to 15 µg/dl (subsection (k)(1)(C)1.a.); and
• Expanding the contents of required training (subsection (l)(2)).

Airborne Contaminants Revisions

Revisions to this section establish requirements for controlling employee exposure to airborne contaminants and skin contact with those substances that are readily absorbed through the skin. The proposed revisions to the existing requirements would lower the PEL for:

• Lead (metallic) and inorganic compounds, dust and fume, as Pb (lead), calculated as an 8-hour TWA, from 0.05 milligrams of lead per cubic meter of air (0.05 mg/m3 ) to 0.01 mg/m3 (Table AC-1); and
• Lead chromate, as Pb (lead), from 0.02 mg/m3 to 0.01 mg/m3 (Table AC-1).

General Industry Lead Revisions

This proposed section applies to all occupational exposures to leave except for the construction and agricultural industries. The proposed amendments to this section include:

• Lowering the action level, which triggers certain requirements, from 30 µg/m3 as an 8-hour TWA to 2 µg/m3 as an 8-hour TWA (subsection (b));
• Adding and defining the terms “altering or disturbing,” “blood lead level,” and “high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter” (subsection (b));
• Adding and defining the term “presumed hazardous lead work (PHLW),” which triggers certain required protective measures (see subsection (b) for definition);
• Lowering the PEL for lead, calculated as an 8-hour TWA, from 50 µg/m3 to 10 µg/m3 (subsection (c)(1));
• Requiring respiratory protection, protective clothing and equipment, medical surveillance, training and warning signs for lead when employees perform PHLW (subsection (d)(2));
• Establishing a separate engineering control air limit (SECAL) for particular processes in the manufacturing of lead acid batteries (subsection (e)(1)(B));
• Establishing general hygiene requirements when employees have occupational exposure to lead rather than exposure to lead above the PEL (subsection (i)(1)(A));
• Reducing the duration of specified work that triggers the requirement to implement medical surveillance for employees (subsection (j)(1)(A));
• Removing the requirement to provide ZPP testing on a routine basis when blood lead testing is provided (subsection (j)(2)(A));
• Increasing the frequency of BLL testing for employees when their BLL is at or above 10 µg/dl (subsection (j)(2)(A)) and requiring a response plan when an employee’s BLL is at or above 10 µg/dl (subsection (j)(2)(E));
• Lowering the BLL at which specified employees must be offered medical examinations and consultations at least annually from 40 µg/dl to 20 µg/dl (subsection (j)(3)(A)1.);
• Requiring the employer to ensure that employees receive specified health information from the ordering or examining physician following a blood lead test (subsection (j)(2)(D)) or medical examination (subsection (j)(5));
• Lowering the criteria for temporary removal from work with lead due to elevated BLLs, known as MRP, from an average BLL of 50 µg/dl to one BLL at or above 30 µg/dl, or effective one year after the effective date, the last two BLLs are at or above 20 µg/dl or the average of all BLLs in the last six months are at or above 20 µg/dl (subsection (k)(1));
• Expanding the type of work that employees on MRP must be removed from to include altering or disturbing lead-containing material and torch cutting any scrap metal (subsection (k)(1)), in addition to existing requirements;
• Lowering the BLL that employees must achieve before returning from MRP to work involving lead from 40 µg/dl to 15 µg/dl (subsection (k)(3)(A)1.); and
• Expanding the contents of required training (subsection (l)(1)(E)).

Benefits of Proposed Changes

The anticipated benefits of the proposals include a reduction in the number of employees exposed to harmful amounts of lead in a wide variety of occupations and work settings in both the construction and general industries. Additional benefits also incorporate fewer exposures to lead from both inhaling airborne lead and ingesting lead. The effect of these revisions would be to lower the risk that employees exposed to lead will develop harmful health effects, including high blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, reproductive and neurological effects, and premature death.

Cal/OSHA also believes these recommendations will benefit employers by helping them avoid the costs associated with employee morbidity (induced illness) and mortality (shortened life expectancy) caused by occupational lead exposure.

Action Steps

This proposal does not impose any new requirements on employers at this time. However, employers subject to Cal/OSHA’s lead exposure standards should review the proposed revisions and submit their comments, if any, by April 20, 2023.

Source – Zywave, Inc.