California Seeks Nation’s Toughest Workplace Lead Exposure Rules

California employers would face the nation’s strictest requirements for protecting their workers from lead dust under proposed rules set for a Thursday public hearing.

The allowable amount of workplace airborne lead would decline 80% and the threshold level for when workers would be reassigned to jobs with less lead exposure would decrease 40% under the proposed mandates from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

The proposed requirements apply to most California employers but would have the greatest impact at work sites where lead is regularly encountered, such as lead battery manufacturers and recyclers, metal component manufacturers, construction, ...