OSHA Asbestos Standard

The OSHA Asbestos Standard is the set of federal workplace rules limiting how much asbestos workers can be exposed to and requiring protections like monitoring, respirators, and training. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) first issued it in 1971 to 1972 and has tightened the permissible limit several times since. It governs how employers must control asbestos on the job.

Origin

OSHA was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Its first asbestos standard took effect in 1971 to 1972 with a permissible exposure limit far higher than today's, and the limit was lowered repeatedly, reaching 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter in 1994.

Significance in Asbestos Context

The history of the OSHA Asbestos Standard is important evidence in many cases. The early legal limits were high and were later shown to be unsafe, and the timeline of tightening limits shows that hazards were known and regulated while exposures continued. For a patient, the standard in force during their working years can show whether an employer or product maker was complying with the safety knowledge of the time, and post-1972 exposures raise questions about why protections weren't used. Comparing a workplace's actual conditions to the standard then in effect can support arguments about negligence and notice.

Example Sentence

His lawyer showed that the shipyard's dust levels in the 1970s far exceeded even the weak OSHA asbestos standard then in effect.

Related Terms

Permissible Exposure Limit, EPA, Occupational Exposure, Government Regulations, Threshold Limit Value, State of the Art

Notes

• Note your dates of exposure; the applicable OSHA limit changed over time and frames what protections were required.
• Employer air-monitoring records and safety programs can be compared to the standard then in force; preserve any that exist.
• The lowering of limits over time can rebut claims that hazards were unknown.