STATUS REPORT ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO PERMISSIBLE AIRBORNE EMISSION EXPOSURE LIMITS FOR U.S. SHIPYARD WORKERS

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) are making or considering reductions in worker exposure limits for nickel, manganese, and chromium compounds, including hexavalent chromium. These changes will have an impact on the operations and processes used by Navy facilities and public and private shipyards for construction, maintenance, and repair of ships. A Navy/Industry Task Group lead by the Naval Sea Systems Command is addressing these concerns and has gathered data on current worker exposure levels to nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), total cromium (Cr), and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). This paper reports the data gathered to date from literature, the Navy Environmental Health database, shipyard worker sampling, and controlled laboratory welding tests.