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Background
Workplace standards for chemicals
and other agents identify exposure limits and guidelines that employers
must follow to protect workers from illness and injury. Cal/OSHA is the
state agency charged with issuing and enforcing workplace regulations and
standards. Workplace health standards are based (in part) on the
scientific information that is available at the time the standard is
issued. Since health hazard information on long-term effects such as
cancer, reproductive damage, and asthma is constantly developing, it is
difficult to keep workplace standards up to date with current knowledge.
In addition, long-term health damage that can be caused by chemicals and
other workplace hazards is difficult to study.
To assist Cal/OSHA in ensuring that workplace health standards are
current, HESIS collects and evaluates new scientific information on
workplace chemicals and other hazards and recommends protective standards
to prevent work-related illness and disease. HESIS recommends revisions
of existing Cal/OSHA standards that may not be fully protective and new
standards for chemicals that are not yet regulated. Protective standards
help employers prevent harmful exposures that can result in health damage
to workers that may not be apparent until many years after exposure ends.
Purpose
To protect the health of workers by recommending
protective standards to Cal/OSHA based on new information on chemicals and
other workplace hazards.
Activities
- Maintain an up-to-date repository of health information on chemicals
and other workplace hazards;
- Identify chemicals and other hazards that pose health risks to
workers where there is no standard, or the existing standard does not
provide adequate protection;
- Document the scientific basis for standards recommendations;
- Review regulatory and voluntary standards set by other groups,
states and countries;
- Provide technical assistance to Cal/OSHA advisory committees in the
development of proposed standards.
Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service
(HESIS) home page
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