New OSHA Standards for Cancer-Causing Hexavalent Chromium

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has lowered its permissible workplace exposure limit to hexavalent chromium and all related compounds to five micrograms per cubic meter of air from 52 micrograms, the standard set in 1971.

This standard was released in accord with the timetable established by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which in April 2003 ordered OSHA to promulgate a standard governing workplace exposure to hexavalent chromium. Besides lowering the permissible exposure limit, the standard also includes provisions relating to preferred methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, protective work clothing and equipment, hygiene areas and practices, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping.

Hexavalent chromium is a cancer-causing metal that is primarily a hazard in the steelworking ,welding and jewelry trades. Hexavalent chromium compounds are widely used in the chemical industry as ingredients and catalysts in pigments, metal plating, and chemical synthesis. It also can be produced when welding on stainless steel or chromium painted surfaces.

The major health effects associated with exposure to hexavalent chromium include lung cancer, nasal septum ulcerations and perforations, skin ulcerations, and allergic and irritant contact dermatitis. Under the new five-microgram standard, OSHA said an estimated 10 to 45 workers per 1,000 could develop lung cancer over a lifetime of exposure, compared with 2.1 to 9.1 cancers per 1,000 workers under a one-microgram standard that had been suggested. Even so, OSHA officials said that under the new standard 100 to 145 cancers a year would be avoided among the estimated 67,000 workers currently exposed to airborne hexavalent chromium beyond five micrograms.

OSHA estimates the new standard will cost the industry $282 million a year. Companies with over 20 employees have 180 days from the effective date of the standard, or by November, 2006, while companies with fewer than 20 employees have a full year to comply with its provisions.

For more information please contact Constantine Panagotacos or Michael Pietrykowski.