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Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Answer

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the safety exposure limit, in parts per million, for formaldehyde emissions set by (a) the Health and Safety Executive and (b) other EU member states; and what international figures his Department has evaluated. [13865] Ms Angela Eagle: Formaldehyde has a maximum exposure limit (MEL) of two parts per million for an eight-hour time weighted average and for a 15-minute reference period under the Control of Substances hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). The occupational exposure limits for other EU member states and worldwide, where information is available, is in the table below. Under COSHH, employers are required to control exposures to formaldehyde to a level as low as is reasonably practicable and in any case below the MEL. It is therefore misleading to compare the numerical value of the MEL with limits in other countries, where limits have different definitions and applications. Occupational exposure limits and guidelines for formaldehyde _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Country or Year Concentration Interpretation region (mg/m{3}) (ppm) Australia 1991 1.5 1.2 \ TWA; probable human carcinogen, sensitizer STEL 3 2.5 / Austria 1982 1.20 1.00 TWA Brazil 1978 2.30 1.90 TWA Belgium 1991 1.2 1 TWA; probable human carcinogen 2.5 2 STEL Bulgaria 1984 1.00 0.80 TWA Chile 1983 2.40 2.00 Ceiling China 1982 3.00 2.50 TWA Czech Republic 1991 0.5 0.4 TWA 1 0.8 STEL Denmark 1991 0.40 0.30 STEL; suspected carcinogen Egypt 1959 6.20 5.00 TWA Finland 1993 1.30 1.00 STEL, 15 min; significant absorption through skin France 1991 3.00 2.50 STEL Germany 1993 0.60 0.50 TWA; suspected carcinogenic potential; local irritant; sinsitizer Hungary 1991 0.60 0.50 Ceiling; probable human carcinogen; irritant; sensitizer India 1983 3.00 2.50 Ceiling Indonesia 1978 6.00 5.00 Ceiling Italy 1978 1.20 1.00 TWA Japan 1991 0.61 0.50 TWA; suspected carcinogenic potential Mexico 1983 3.00 2.50 TWA Netherlands 1986 1.5 1.2 TWA 3 2.5 Ceiling, 15 min Norway 1990 0.6 0.5 TWA; allergen; suspected carcinogen 1.2 1 Ceiling Poland 1991 2.00 1.60 TWA Romania 1975 4.00 3.00 MAX Russian Federation 1991 0.50 0.40 STEL; significant absorption through skin; allergen Sweden 1991 0.6 0.5 TWA; sensitizer 1.2 1 Ceiling Switzerland 1991 0.6 0.5 TWA; sensitizer 1.2 1 Ceiling Taiwan 1981 6.00 5.00 TWA; significant absorption through skin; United Kingdom 1992 2.5 2 TWA; maximum exposure limit 2.5 2 STEL, 15 min USA ACGIH{1} 1993 0.37 0.3 Ceiling; suspected human carcinogen 0.02 0.01 TWA; potential human carcinogen NIOSH{2} 1992 0.12 0.1 Ceiling, 15 min 0.9 0.75 TWA OSHA{3} 1993 2.5 2.0 STEL _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Key {1} ACGIH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists--This is a non statutory body and the limits they prescribe are only a recommendation. {2} NIOSH: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health: A research institute whose limits are only advisory. {3} OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration: The statutory agency whose limits apply by law. MEL: Maximum exposure limit. MELs have a particular status under COSHH. Under the Regulations, there is a duty to control exposure to substances with a MEL to a level as low as is reasonably practicable, and in any case below the MEL. This duty to reduce exposures thus does not stop once the MEL level has been achieved, but continues until all that is reasonably practicable has been done. This special status of MELs means that it is misleading simply to compare the numerical value of a MEL with a limit that applies in another country, where limits have different definitions and applications. TWA: Time weighted average. Both the long-term and the short-term exposure limits are expressed as airborne concentrations averaged over a specified period of time. The period for the long-term limit is usually eight hours; the short-term exposure limit (STEL) in the UK is 15 minutes but may be different elsewhere.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

13865; 300 c142-4W

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Health hazards EU law Formaldehyde

Contains statistics

Yes