Lower Blood Lead Levels On OSHA's To-Do List

• Published date: 30 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Health & Safety
• Law Firm: Seyfarth Shaw LLP
• Author: A. Scott Hecker, Adam Young, Patrick Joyce, James Curtis and Craig Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 28, 2022, OSHA announced publication of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("ANPRM") regarding potential revisions to the Agency's lead standards, lowering permissible blood lead levels.

OSHA's ANPRM concerning the point at which Blood Lead Levels ("BLLs") require medical removal seeks public comment on reducing those levels across both the Agency's general industry (29 CFR 1910.1025) and construction (29 CFR 1926.62) lead standards. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published studies suggesting that the current OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit ("PEL") for lead may be too high to protect against certain health effects. Accordingly, OSHA asserts in its ANPRM that this regulatory activity is

based on medical findings since the issuance of OSHA's lead standards that adverse health effects in adults can occur at [BLLs] . . . lower than the medical removal level . . . and lower than the level required under current standards for an employee to return to their former job status.

Lead exposure can result in "adverse health effects, including but not limited to effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory, and immune systems." To gather information in an effort to address these negative impacts, the ANPRM seeks input from employers on

OSHA's triggers for medical removal of workers with elevated BLLs and their return to lead-exposed work; OSHA's requirements for medical surveillance and management of lead-exposed employees; several additional provisions and compliance protocols that are undergoing public review in State Plans' ongoing work to update their occupational lead standards; and the costs and...