Initial Exposure Assessment

If employers have any reason to believe that their employees are exposed to lead, they must conduct an exposure assessment. The initial exposure assessment is based on the following:

• Lead monitoring for jobs that would have the greatest potential exposure
• Any information, observations, or calculations that would indicate exposure
• Previous measurements of airborne lead
• Employee complaints of symptoms that could result from lead exposure

If any of the foregoing items suggest that employees may be exposed to lead at or above the action level of 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air, the employer must then implement full monitoring for each employee who is exposed to lead. This monitoring must be repeated every six months until at least two measurements, taken more than a week apart, show that levels have fallen below the action level.

If the initial exposure assessment suggests that employees may be exposed to lead at or above the permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, employers must repeat monitoring every three months instead of every six. In addition, employers must implement employee safety measures, which will be discussed shortly.

Employers must conduct another exposure assessment whenever changes occur that could result in employee exposure, including changes in equipment, procedures, processes, controls, or new tasks.

To learn more about Construction Lead Exposure visit our Cal/OSHA Construction Lead Exposure Online Training web page.