Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Asbestos (1972)

NIOSH's first criteria document, issued in 1972 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 with a preface by Director Marcus M. Key. It recommended an 8-hour time-weighted limit of 2.0 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter (fibers longer than 5 micrometers, counted by membrane filter phase-contrast microscopy) and a 10 fibers/cc peak, plus sections on medical surveillance, labeling, protective clothing, informing employees of hazards, work practices and recordkeeping. The complete document reviews biologic effects, epidemiological and animal studies, environmental data and the basis for earlier standards, with appendices on air sampling, a hazard rating system and a material safety data sheet, followed by data tables.