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• The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has developed WEELs - (Workplace
Environmental Exposure Limits).
• Local, state or regional governments also set or recommend their own limits.
As well as these, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces
Department of Labour Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) - which are legal limits in the USA.
The safe levels of exposure set out above may vary due to different time-measuring periods;
different measuring criteria (equipment used); different expected airborne concentrations,
and various other criteria determining the toxicity of a substance.
The amosite form of asbestos is a good example of how standards differ (this data is provided
for illustration only and should not be taken as a definitive list of limits).
• Australia - 1.0 f/ml (fibres per millilitre).
• Belgium - 2.0 f/ml.
• Canada - 0.5 f/ml.
• France - overall asbestos limit of 2.0 f/ml.
• Germany - overall asbestos limit of 1.0 f/ml.
• In the UK, the limit for amosite was set at 0.2 f/ml.
• In the USA, the limit for amosite is set at 0.5 f/ml, with an overall asbestos limit of 2.0 f/ml.
It is therefore important to be aware of the relevant limits when working internationally, and
to compare measurements to these exposure limits.
POSHE V2| Unit IG2 – Element 7 – Chemical and Biological 29
Agents
