by Brianna Crandall — July 26, 2013—Occupational and environmental health organization ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) announced on July 23 the release of its two-tier 2013 Under Study List pursuant to changes previously made to its TLV/BEI Development Process.
The TLVs and BEIs, or Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs), are guidelines on chemical exposure levels to be used by professionals trained in the practice of industrial hygiene; they are not designed to be used as standards, clarifies ACGIH. The TLVs and BEIs are health-based values established by committees that review existing published and peer-reviewed literature in various scientific disciplines. Based on the available information, ACGIH formulates a conclusion on what level of exposure the typical worker can experience without adverse health effects. There is no consideration given to economic or technical feasibility, notes ACGIH.
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. Tier 1 entries indicate which chemical substances and physical agents may move forward as an NIC (Notice of Intended Changes) 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 plans to 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. Besides the Under Study List explained above, the TLV/BEI Resources site also includes: Conflict of Interest Policy, Notice of Intended Changes (NIC), TLV/BEI Policy Statement, TLV/BEI Position Statement, TLV/BEI Development Process, Committee Operations Manuals, and TLV/BEI Process Presentations.
