by Brianna Crandall — August 25, 2014—Occupational and environmental health organization ACGIH (the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) has just announced the release of its two-tier Under Study list pursuant to changes previously made to its TLV/BEI Development Process.
Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs) are guidelines on chemical exposure levels in the workplace for use by industrial hygiene professionals. The chemicals covered include those that workers are exposed to in manufacturing, cleaning processes and laboratories, and similar workplaces.
In 2006, ACGIH began providing additional information on the status of chemical substances and physical agents that are on the Under Study list. In addition to the practice of publishing an updated Under Study list on the ACGIH Web site, in the ACGIH Annual Reports by February 1 of each year, and in the annual TLVs and BEIs book, the Under Study list will be updated annually by July 31 and presented in a two-tier list.
As ACGIH explains it, Tier 1 entries indicate which chemical substances and physical agents may move forward as an NIC (Notice of Intended Change) or NIE (Notice of Intent to Establish) in the upcoming year, based on their status in the development process. Tier 2 consists of those chemical substances and physical agents that will not move forward, but will either remain on, or be removed from the Under Study list for the next year.
This process is designed to provide the public with information of significant relevance regarding the development status of a substance or agent, increase the transparency and clarity of ACGIH’s process regarding those substances and agents on the Under Study list, and provide additional information that may help interested parties prioritize their efforts for submitting information or comments to the Committee. The updated list will remain in two tiers for the balance of the year. ACGIH will continue this practice of updating the Under Study list by February 1 and establishing the two-tier list by July 31 each year.
ACGIH recommends that all TLV and BEI users read the Statement of Position Regarding the TLVs and BEIs that outlines the proper usage of TLVs and BEIs. The Statement of Position can be found in the TLV/BEI Resources section of the ACGIH Web site, along with other useful information.
