Dangerous Activities

• Construction work that is subject to OSHA's lead-safe requirements include demolition or salvage of structures where materials containing lead are present; construction, alteration or repair of any structure that contains lead; installation of products that contain lead; and cleaning up a site that has been contaminated with lead, among others.
  
  

Permissible Limits

• The permissible exposure limit of lead is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over the course of an 8-hour work day. Action must be taken by the employer to limit exposure when the amount of lead in the air reaches 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
  
  

Lead Monitoring

• Whenever lead is present in the workplace, the employer is required to make a determination of whether the action level has been exceeded. That determination is made by monitoring the air for the presence of lead as experienced by employees who are likely to have the highest exposures. Once the monitoring in complete, employees must be made aware of the results and medical surveillance must be offered to all employees who experienced exposure above the action level for more than 30 days a year. In addition, employers must train those employees on how to correctly use protective equipment, which activities are likely to generate the most exposure to lead and the adverse effects of long-term exposure.
  
  

Prevention Requirements

• OSHA requires that all employers make an attempt to prevent lead poisoning before it occurs. In order to limit exposure, employers must implement control measures such as confining the hazardous activity, providing ventilation and substituting less toxic materials where possible. Where containment is not possible, employees must be provided with respirators and, when employees are exposed to lead in amounts above the permissible limit, they must also be provided with protective equipment and clothing. Changing rooms, showers and lunchrooms with filtered air also must be available to workers exposed to lead in excess of the permissible limit. In addition, employers are required to have in place a program that keeps all surfaces free of lead dust.
  
  

Medical Removal

• When all other means of protecting an employee have failed, she must be offered medical removal protection, which is the temporary removal of the employee from her original job to another area with less lead exposure in order for the employee's body to naturally eliminate the lead build-up. The employer must keep the employee at the same level of income, benefits and seniority during this move.