Journal of public health policy
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J Public Health Policy · Jan 1999
ReviewLimitations of occupational air contaminant standards, as exemplified by the neurotoxin N-hexane.
Available industry guidelines and federal standards have failed to fully protect workers from chemical toxicity: none exist for most chemicals, many are biased toward what can easily be achieved, and many were developed long after health consequences became evident. Limitations of occupational air contaminant standards in the United States are well illustrated by standard-setting for the neurotoxin n-hexane. In the 1940s, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) first promulgated industrial guidelines known as "threshold limit values" (TLVs), including an 8-hour time-weighted average of 500 ppm for inspired n-hexane. ⋯ Court of Appeals in 1992. As a result, the current OSHA PEL for n-hexane remains at the 500 ppm level adopted in 1971, which even then was too high based upon available scientific evidence. New information over this long period, including that obtained from industrial outbreaks of disease due to chemical exposures, has not been incorporated into revised federal standards.