1. What are OELs?
The OELs are guideline values established to ensure the protection of workers against the toxic risks of a chemical substance.
1.1 Definition
OELs are defined for all possible routes of exposure by inhalation.
We distinguish between:
the VLE, the limit value set for short-term occupational exposure of 15 minutes, which may be repeated during the working day;
the STEL, the acceptable weighted average value for 8 hours of work per day, during a 40-hour working week and over a 40-year working life; the STEL includes all exposures over a day (note that for work lasting longer than 8 hours, an adjustment is made to adapt the STEL value to the actual working...
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What are OELs?
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Bibliography
Also in our database
Bibliography
ECETOC: Guidance on Assessment Factors to Derive a DNEL. Technical Report No. 110 (2010).
ECHA: Guidance on information requirements and chemical safety assessment. Chapter R.8: Characterization of dose [concentration]-response for human health, version 2.1 (2012).
INRS: Occupational Exposure Limits (2024).
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Websites
ECHA publishes, among other things, a guide for characterizing concentrations with a view to protecting the health of exposed individuals and a guide for determining exposure to chemicals. These guides are published by ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency.
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