Lead Exposure in Construction

LEAD EXPOSURE IN CONSTRUCTION

ISSUE:

To comply with OSHA regulations 1926.62, Lead Exposure in Construction,

following guidelines will be used for all construction activities where employees

may be occupationally exposed to lead.

SCOPE:

These guidelines apply to all construction work including demolition, alteration.

renovation including painting and decorating, or salvage of structures where lead

or materials containing lead are present, and where there is a potential for the

generation of airborne lead as particles or fume.

DEFINITIONS:

ACTION LEVEL: Employee exposure, without regard to the use of respirators, to

an airborne concentration of lead of 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air,

calculated as an 8-hour time weighted average.

PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LIMIT (PEL): No employee shall be exposed to lead

at concentrations greater than 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged

over an 8-hour period.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Representative samples from surfaces or substrates affected by construction

activities shall be sampled and evaluated for lead content. If significant areas or

amounts of lead containing materials are potentially impacted by the project,

personal samples shall be collected representative of the employee's daily

exposure to lead Full employee protection shall be presumed necessary unless

demonstrated otherwise by documentation of exposure levels for similar

construction tasks, or based on the results of exposure monitoring performed by

the contractor at work site. Techniques which minimize the production of airborne

lead shall be preferred.

08 November 1995

FM-187C-

DA46

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