NIOSH takes another look at asbestos definition and exposure limit
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recently released a revised current intelligence bulletin for asbestos fibers and other elongate materials. In this bulletin, NIOSH explains the research it still wants to do and clarifies the recommended exposure limit (REL) for airborne asbestos fibers from 1990.
The REL from 1990 specifies 0.1 airborne asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter. Due to some confusion over the definition of asbestos, the clarification now states that the REL is 0.1 countable elongate mineral particles from one or more covered minerals per cubic centimeter averaged over 100 minutes. It goes on to define a countable elongate mineral particle (EMP) by size and a covered material as a mineral having the elemental composition and crystal structure of chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite or other forms of asbestos or one of their nonasbestiform analogs, including lizardite and antigorite, among others.
NIOSH also indicated that it wants to conduct further research to better understand what determines the toxicity of asbestos fibers and other EMPs and to discover more about occupational exposure to them.
Asbestos exposure can result in serious illnesses like asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.
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