Key Terms

Action Level: The level at which certain safety precautions, such as training and monitoring, must be put into place. The action level for cadmium is 2.5 micrograms of cadmium per cubic meter of air.

Authorized Person: Any person authorized by the employer and required by work duties to be present in regulated areas. This also includes those designated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to enter regulated areas.

Competent Person: A person who is designated by the employer as capable to identify and predict hazards in the surroundings or working environment, and who has the authority to take measures to correct or eliminate them.

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL): The highest concentration of a hazardous substance that workers can legally and safely be exposed to over the course of an eight-hour workday. The PEL for cadmium is 5 micrograms of cadmium per cubic meter of air averaged over eight hours.

Regulated Area: The area restricted to authorized personnel due to an expectation of cadmium exposure in excess of the PEL.

Time-Weighted Average (TWA): This is the average employee exposure to a substance over an eight-hour work shift based on chemical measurements. Most chemicals with PELs also have a TWA value. Some chemicals have a ceiling or short-term exposure limits in addition to or instead of TWA values.

Written Compliance Program: Documentation created by the employer to show what potential exposure likelihoods exist, and the actions that will be taken to protect employees from exposure when it is above the action level.

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