Exceptions to the Regulations

Cal/OSHA section 5218 applies to all occupational exposures to benzene, with the following exceptions:

• The storage, transportation, distribution, dispensing, sale or use of gasoline, motor fuels, or other fuels containing benzene subsequent to their final discharge from bulk wholesale storage facilities
• Loading and unloading operations at bulk wholesale storage facilities that use vapor control systems for all loading and unloading operations (except for the provisions of Cal/OSHA Title 8 section 5194, Hazard Communication, as incorporated into section 5218 and its provisions for emergency respirator use and emergency medical examinations)
• The storage, transportation, distribution, or sale of benzene or liquid mixtures containing more than 0.1 percent benzene in intact containers or in transportation pipelines while sealed in such a manner as to contain benzene vapors or liquid, except for the provisions of section 5194, Hazard Communication, as incorporated into this section and this section's provisions for emergency respirator use and emergency medical examinations
• Containers and pipelines carrying mixtures with less than 0.1 percent benzene and natural gas processing plants processing gas with less than 0.1 percent benzene
• Work operations where the only exposure to benzene is from liquid mixtures containing 0.1 percent or less of benzene by volume, or the vapors released from such liquids
• Tire building machine operators
• Oil and gas drilling, production, and servicing operations
• Coke oven batteries

Operations where gasoline or motor fuels are dispensed for more than four hours per day in an indoor location are covered by Section 5218. Operators using solvents with more than 0.1 percent benzene are covered by the medical surveillance requirements of this section.

The cleaning and repair of barges and tankers that have contained benzene are excluded from the section's requirements for methods of compliance, general exposure monitoring, and accuracy standards for monitoring. However, engineering and work practice controls should still be used in workplaces where these activities occur in order to keep exposures lower than 10 parts per million, unless the employer can prove that these controls are not feasible.

To learn more about Benzene Safety visit our Cal/OSHA Benzene Safety Online Training web page.