Thursday, July 30, 2009
OSHA letter: No separate PELs for pregnant workers
The permissible exposure limit for nitric oxide is the same for all employees, including pregnant woman, OSHA said in a July 23 letter of interpretation.
The agency was asked whether the PEL for nitric oxide – 25 parts per million as an eight-hour time-weighted average – applies to pregnant women or if another PEL existed for them. In the letter, Richard Fairfax, director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs, advised pregnant employees and their employers to consult Material Safety Data Sheets to find out whether certain chemicals present reproductive or pregnancy-related hazards.
Additional letters of interpretation posted on OSHA's Website last week examined the requirement that employers pay for equipment used by employees working on poles or towers, and how OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard pertains to dental and medical facilities.
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