Occupational Exposure Limits for Lead

Existing legislation in Europe limits the Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) for employees in battery plants to 70 µg lead per dl blood (µg/dl). In September 2000 the EU Scientific and Social Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) published its initial recommendations to lower the applicable exposure limits throughout Europe to 30 µg/dl per exposed person. SCOEL cited the neurobehavioral effects of lead as the relevant health effect on which this recommendation is based.

In the meantime, European lead-producing and lead-consuming industries submitted comments to the European Commission’s Directorate of Employment on the scientific basis of the SCOEL recommendations and on other health effects of lead. The European Commission must now consider the socio-economic impact of lowering the legal lead-in-blood level in Europe in order to see whether the relevant Chemical Agent Directive on employee blood levels will have to be changed.

EUROBAT is actively involved in industry efforts on lowering blood lead limits and our member companies are doing much more by taking the proactive initiative to voluntarily start activities to reduce their employees exposure without waiting for a decision from the legislative bodies. The Industry has developed guidelines to lower blood lead, known as “The EUROBAT Blood Lead Reduction Programme”.

EUROBAT officially adopted the above-mentioned reduction programme in 2000. The basic levels of the Blood Lead Reduction Guidelines are a list of control measures that combine activities in the following areas:

• Technical controls and workplace procedures
• Personal hygiene
• Personal protective equipment
• Training

Industry experience shows that there is not a strong link between lead in blood and lead in air. EUROBAT therefore considers all single measures that are described in the guidelines as measures of equal priority. Regulations used to focus on low lead in air exposure meant low blood yields. This position is however now under review.

The implementation, review and continuous improvement by the Blood Lead Reduction Guidelines are accompanied by facility-specific reduction of internal limits.

EUROBAT members will track their programme to an exposure level that is as low as possible as long as the discussion of the final European limit continues.

EUROBAT believes that supporting the legislative bodies and adopting voluntary programmes demonstrate the benefits of achieving desired improvements that have traditionally been set as legally binding limits. The biggest benefit of all is for employees of EUROBAT member companies – improvement of their health.

For more information, see the article for the International Lead Zinc Research Organization written by Karsten Kurz, Director of Health and Environment and Safety, Germany and European Regulatory Affairs for EXIDE Technologies, Member of the Committee for Environmental Affairs of EUROBAT."