Permissible Exposure Limit

The permissible exposure limit (PEL) is the limit of hazardous materials exposure, inhalation, or skin contact permissible by OSHA. OSHA provides a table of substances and the OSHA PEL for each substance. When applicable, OSHA lists the PEL amount in ppm (parts per million) or in mg/m³ (milligrams of substance per cubic meter of air).

Many OSHA PELs were established shortly after 1970 (after the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act). OSHA recognizes that many of its PELs are "outdated and inadequate for ensuring protection of worker health" and admits that "industrial experience, new developments in technology, and scientific data clearly indicate that in many instances these adopted limits are not sufficiently protective of worker health."

OSHA also recognizes a "reduction in allowable exposure limits recommended by many technical, professional, industrial, and government organizations, both inside and outside the United States." For this reason, OSHA admits that "many large industrial organizations have felt obligated to supplement the existing OSHA PELs with their own internal corporate guidelines."

The OSHA list of PELs is included in 29 CFR Part 1910, Subparts G and Z. Note that this table includes not only OSHA PELs, but also the PELs of the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH^®), as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limits (RELs).

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