Document LgxJRkX2nG93qrK4QxBNJp5xq

Hoechst Celanese Corporation Technical Center Corpus Christi, Texas To: From: CCTC Employees R. Pasquino . June 6, 1989 RP-48-89 New OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits As many of you may be aware, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently amended its Air Contaminant Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1000. This standard sets Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for approximately 400 chemicals. PELs are the legal airborne concentrations to which employees may be exposed. Employers must comply with the new standard by September 1, 1989. The impact upon the Corpus Christi Technical Center (CCTC) is expected to be minimal since Hoechst Celanese had already adopted the current and more stringent American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) as our exposure limits. Except for the enactment of 24 substance specific regulations, the PELs have not been updated since the OSH Act was originally enacted in 1970. At that time, the PELs were adopted from the 1968 TLVs set by the ACGIH and from the American Standards Association (now the American National Standards Institute - ANSI). Industrial experience, new scientific data, and developments in technology indicated that, in many instances, the former PEL's were inadeqate. OSHA, therefore, decided to use a generic rulemaking which would simultaneously revise the PELs for approximately 400 chemicals. The amendment to its existing Air Contaminants standard lowered the PELs for 212 substances, set new PELs for 164 substances not previously regulated by OSHA, and retained certain PELs unchanged. The revised or new PELs will substantially reduce the risk of health impairment among workers not previously protected using the current ACGIH TLVs. Most of the new PELs were adopted from the 1987-1988 ACGIH TLVs. TLVs are developed as guidelines to assist in the control of health hazards and are defined as the airborne concentrations of substances to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed day after day without QUALITY AND TEAMWORK - A WINNING COMBINATION 009010 RP-48-89 -2- June 6, 1989 adverse effect. TLVs are based on the best available information from industrial experience, from experimental human and animal studies, and when possible, from a combination of the three. TLVs are updated annually. In 1987, as part of its committment to environmental, health and safety protection, Hoechst Celanese published its Corporate Environmental, Health and Safety Policies ("Blue Book"). The "Blue Book" states that "all current Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) established by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) will be considered the Hoechst Celanese workplace exposure limits unless Hoechst Celanese adopts a different workplace limit for a particular substance or agent". CCTC is committed to providing employees with a safe workplace. The ESHA department will continue to evaluate potential exposures and conduct periodic industrial hygiene monitoring to determine workplace exposure levels and ensure compliance with OSHA regulations and Corporate policy. 2 Pasqulpo In j 00901A