Applicable Regulations

The United States Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), provides regulations that are applicable to all U.S. workers not otherwise covered under an OSHA-certified state plan. There are twenty-eight state plans sanctioned by OSHA. A state plan may be different or more stringent than the OSHA regulations, but to be approved, the state plan standards must be at least as strict as the federal OSHA regulations.

Since 1977, California has had an OSHA-certified state plan. This plan, commonly referred to as "Cal/OSHA," is administered by the California Department of Industrial Relations through the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Cal/OSHA covers all private sector workplaces, state government, and local government workplaces in the state. Only employees of the federal government and offshore maritime workers are exempted from Cal/OSHA. These workers are covered under the federal OSHA plan.

OSHA passed its cadmium regulations in 1991. The OSHA regulations for cadmium can be found in the OSHA Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections 1910.1027, 1915.1027, 1926.1127, and 1928.1027.

Several states, including California, have implemented stricter OSHA-approved state regulations regarding cadmium exposure in the workplace. Through Cal/OSHA, the DOSH protects worker safety and health by researching and setting standards. A lengthy process is required for the development of a new workplace safety rule. Each rule that eventually becomes a standard has been reviewed by a variety of subject matter experts, lawmakers, and interested members of the public.

Approved standards become part of a system of "safety orders." All workplace safety orders are cataloged under Title 8 of the Code of California Regulations (8 CCR). These regulations are further broken down into subchapters that address rules specific to an industry, process, or type of equipment. Subchapters are numbered for easy reference. For example, the phrase "8 CCR 5207" refers to Title 8 subchapter number 5207, which pertains to the control of cadmium exposure in general industry. Throughout this course, we will reference specific standards using this numbering method.

In addition to 8 CCR 5207, Cal/OSHA provides cadmium regulations for the construction industry in 8 CCR 1532.

The full text of Cal/OSHA standards can be found online at the California Department of Labor Relations website. A link to this website is provided in the Additional Resources section at the end of this course.

To learn more about Cadmium Safety visit our Cadmium Safety Online Training web page.