Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIgure 23.6
Hazardous.chemicals.can.be.found.on.most.worksites.
scientiic. information. and. research,. but. OSHA. must. do. a. cost-beneit. analysis. for.
each.chemical.in.order.to.upgrade.the.PEL.
The.U.S..Environmental.Protection.Agency.allows.for.one.death.or.one.cancer.
case.per.million.people.exposed.to.a.hazardous.chemical..Certainly.the.public.needs.
these.kinds.of.protections..Using.the.existing.OSHA.PELs.risk.factor.is.only.as.pro-
tective.as.one.death.due.to.exposure.in.1,000.workers..This.indicates.that.there.exists.
a.“fence.line.mentality”.that.suggests.that.workers.can.tolerate.higher.exposures.than.
the.general.public.is.expected.to.endure..As.one.illustration.of.this,.the.exposure.to.
sulfur.dioxide.for.the.public.is.set.by.the.EPA.at.0.14.ppm.average.over.24.hours,.
while. the. OSHA. PEL. is. 5. ppm. average. over. 8. hours.. Certainly,. there. is. a. wide.
margin.between.what.the.public.can.be.subjected.to.and.what.a.worker.is.supposed.
to.be.able.to.tolerate..The.question.is.this:.Is.there.a.difference.between.humans.in.
the.public.arena.and.those.in.the.work.arena?.Maybe.workers.are.assumed.to.be.more.
immune.to.the.effects.of.chemicals.when.they.are.in.the.workplace.than.when.they.
are.at.home.because.of.workplace.regulations.and.precautions.
A. more. signiicant. issue. is. that. regarding. mixtures.. The. information. does. not.
exist.to.show.the.risk.of.illnesses,.long-term.illnesses,.or.the.toxicity.of.combining.
these.hazardous.chemicals..At.present,.it.is.assumed.that.the.most.dangerous.chemi-
cal.of.the.mixture.has.the.most.potential.to.cause.serious.health-related.problems,.
then. the. next. most. hazardous,. and. so. on.. However,. little. consideration. is. given.
