OSHA Pushes Alternatives To 'Outdated' PELs But Insists Enforcement Stance Won't Change

OSHA launched a high-profile effort Thursday (Oct. 24) to push employers to consider a sweeping set of occupational exposure levels (OELs) -- published in newly developed tables on its website -- for dangerous chemicals based on recommendations from NIOSH, exposure levels developed by a group of government industrial hygienists, and permissible exposure limits (PELs) enforced in California that are more stringent than federal standards.