February 4, 2005—The 2005 Threshold Limit Values (TLV) for chemical substances and physical agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEI) have been ratified by the board of directors of The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). The board also approved recommendations for additions to the Notice of Intended Changes (NIC).
TLVs and BEIs are guidelines to be used by professionals trained in the practice of industrial hygiene.
The TLVs and BEIs are not designed to be used as standards. They 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.
The Notice of Intended Changes (NIC) is composed of those substances and physical agents for which a limit/BEI is proposed for the first time, for which a change in the adopted value/index is proposed, for which retention as an NIC is proposed, or for which withdrawal of the Documentation and adopted TLVBEI is proposed. In each case, the proposals should be considered trial values during the period they are on the NIC. These proposals were ratified by the ACGIH board of directors and will remain on the NIC for approximately one year following ratification. Items on NIC TLV/BEI are subject to review and possible change by the Board of Directors.
A listing of the substances that were acted upon is available from ACGIH. The Annual Reports of the ratifications is published in the winter issue of the ACGIH newsletter, Today! Online, and can be found online ACGIH members can download the electronic version of the Annual Reports at no cost. Nonmembers can also acquire the report through the ACGIH Web site for $19.95, or by calling 513/742-2020.
For more information contact www.acgih.org.
