Workplace chemicals may face tighter limits

In a sweeping move uncharacteristic of the agency, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration is proposing a toughening of its permissible exposure levels (PELs) for 234 chemicals. It sets exposure limits for the first time for another 168 chemicals, reaffirms existing limits for 25 substances, and raises a limit for one chemical, fluorine. OSHA estimates the new limits will reduce work-related illnesses 50,000 cases each year. Total compliance costs are estimated at $928 million annually. The proposal stands in sharp contrast to OSHA's traditionally lenient posture toward regulating exposure to hazardous chemicals. In OSHA's 17 years of existence, the agency has produced comprehensive standards for only 24 substances. As OSHA Administrator John A. Pendergrass pointed out, the substance-by-substance approach obviously could not keep up with the number of chemicals in the market. Thus the current proposal, which he called "a major milestone in the history of workplace protection in this country. . . . ...