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Standard Number: | 1910.1025(e)(4)(ii) |
September 17, 1982 Mr. James R. Thornton Manager of Industrial Hygiene Newport News Shipbuilding 4101 Washington Avenue Newport News, Virginia 23607 Dear Mr. Thornton: This is in response to your inquiry of August 12, 1982, to MaryAnn Garrahan of my staff. You asked whether controls are available for monitoring a recirculation system as specified under 29 CFR 1910.1025(e)(4)(ii)(B) of OSHA's lead standard. Various devices are available which monitor the effectiveness of a system for recirculating air in a workplace where there is lead xposure. Systems which would monitor specifically for lead dust, however, could be costly. One example of an acceptable system is a total dust monitor with an alarm that would trigger a bypass of the recirculated air at dust levels above, e.g., 5 µg/m3 at any concentration of lead in the dust. It provides protection in that no more than 10 percent of the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for lead would be permitted in the return air at any time. 29 CFR 1910.1025(e)(4)(ii)(B) is only enforced when there is a potential hazard (e.g., where employee exposures could exceed the PEL for the lead standard, 50 µg/m3). Citations would generally not be issued for 1910.1025(e)(4)(ii)(B) when there is only a technical violation of the standard (e.g., employee exposures to lead are very low). I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Patrick R. Tyson, Director [Directorate of Enforcement Programs] [Corrected 6/2/2005] |
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