Letter 063

Proposed OSHA Std for exposure to Cr

10 Oct 95  

There are rumors that OSHA is proposing to reduce the allowable occupational exposure of chrome from 100 to 0.5 micrograms/cubic meter of air. Is anyone in your industry group fighting with OSHA on this matter? Reducing the exposure level this low would most likely severely impact your industry as well as the aerospace industry.  

Scott F [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
Lockheed Martin  

Yes. The professional societies serving the industry, such as the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society and the National Association of Metal Finishers are aware of this, as well as the EPA's MACT Standards for chromium plating and chromic acid anodizing. In fact, through an alphabet soup of joint committees and organizations, they are fighting this through lobbying and educational efforts. You might want to join the AESF, which offers many benefits, including a subscription to Plating & Surface Finishing magazine to keep you abreast of exactly what efforts are underway at a given time.

A PEL of 0.5 sounds ludicrously low, but I am personally not opposed to some tightening of the existing standards. The plating industry has been well aware of the unhealthy effects of exposure to chromium fumes for almost 70 years and has been able to achieve nothing in terms of a voluntary standard.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ

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