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| MODULE 7: PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS
TOPICS IN OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SECTION 10: STANDARD SETTING IN OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: 2. The Process Of Standard Setting - International Agencies, Other Countries And South Africa |
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Many countries and international agencies have been/are involved in the process of setting standards. For many hazards wide discrepancies exist between these agencies. Most undertake separate process resulting in the use of considerable resources. Over the last two decades attempts have been made to harmonise the documentation on which countries base their OELs. The first attempt was in 1987, the workshop on "International Cooperation on the systematic investigation of existing chemicals, followed by a European Commission initiative in 1989, the Workshop on the Harmonisation of Criteria Documents for the Establishment of Health Based Recommended Occupational Exposure Limits".
The ILO sets labour standards on a variety of topics. These issues arise from governments, the international labour movement, the corporate world and the UN itself. The ILO's standards take the form of international labour Conventions and Recommendations. The ILO's Conventions are international treaties, subject to ratification by ILO member States. Its Recommendations are non-binding instruments -- typically dealing with the same subjects as Conventions -- which set out guidelines which can orient national policy and action. Both forms are intended to have a concrete impact on working conditions and practices in every country of the world. The organization has adopted more than 180 Conventions and 185 Recommendations covering a broad range of subjects of which many are directly related to occupational health, while others have an important bearing on the discipline.
The process commences with the ILO Governing Body placing an item on the agenda, which is then transmitted by the ILO Office to all member states (governments) for comment, and discussion with their labour and industry representative bodies. At the International Labour Conference, discussion is held, and the Conference appoints a tripartite committee to conduct further discussion. The content of the latter is then transmitted to member states. Comments are then considered and a revised draft of the standard is prepared. It is tabled again at the IL Conference the following year, for further discussion, and then subject to a vote. The standard is adopted by a 2/3 majority of member states present at the Conference.
OELs in South Africa are set by the Chief Director: Occupational Health and Safety following recommendations of the Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety (ACOHS) (a tripartite structure). The latter receives assessments from a Standing Committee of the ACOHS. The Standing Committee must determine what type of limit is appropriate - a control limit (CL) or recommended limit (RL) and at what concentration the limit should be set. A RL is set by the Committee based on scientific judgement of available information on health effects. If a CL is to be set, this is done by the ACOHS because it will involve socio-economic judgements and weighing health risk against cost of implementing the standard.
A RL is assigned to a substance if it meets certain criteria:
Criterion 1: No risk at the exposure limit - scientific data is available which provides with reasonable certainty a concentration level at which the likelihood of adverse health outcome is minimal if workers are exposed to the substance daily.
Criterion 2: Excursions above the limit are unlikely - exposures to concentrations above that derived in criterion 1 could occur and are likely to produce serious short or long term health effects within the period of time that it may take to identify the excessive exposure or the remedy the cause.
Criterion 3: Compliance is reasonably practicable - available evidence suggests that compliance with the RL is practicable.
If a substance does not meet this criteria, it is assigned a CL, and must meet the following criteria:
Criterion 4: The evidence does not meet criterion 1 and exposure to the substance is likely to have serious health consequences or,
Criterion 5: Socio-economic factors suggest that although the substance meets criteria 1 and 2, a higher standard is necessary for the implementation of controls to be reasonably practicable.
In the past, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment relied almost totally on the Threshhold Limit Values (TLVs) of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). This was done without consultation of the stakeholders. In 1976 a three step approach was adopted. The first step involves the development of a health based recommended occupational exposure limit (HBR-OEL) by a "Working Group of Experts". This is done purely from a health protection viewpoint, without consideration for potential socioeconomic and technological constraints. During this phase the governmental department develops a document on the socio-economic and technological constraints and current exposure levels in Dutch industry. The second step (policy making) involves the Commission on Exposure Limits for Hazardous Chemical Substances, which is a tripartite structure (government, chemical industry and trade union representatives). The latter reviews the HBR-OEL document, together with the departmental report to arrive at an operational OEL. In the third step (administrative), the government department decides on an operational administrative OEL, which affords a 6 month period to industry to submit evidence as to why a proposed OEL cannot be achieved in the near future. When the administrative OEL exceeds the HBR-OEL, the department decides on a time period within which the OEL has to be reduced to the HBR-OEL.
Although the most famous standards that emanate from the US are the TLVs of the ACGIH, these are not enforceable standards. The only enforceable standard in the US are those published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA first published a set of legal standards in 1970, at which time they simply adopted the AGCHIH’s TLV list (see further discussion below).
OSHA however, as a clearly defined process by which they set standards for occupational exposure limits. This US standard setting process discussed in detail on their website. In summary, should OSHA decide that a new standard is required, or it is requested to do so by any other government agency, state government or other standard setting body, it could call upon one of two standing committees (the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health or the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health) or establish ad hoc committees to develop specific recommendations. All of these committees have to be tripartite in nature. NIOSH may also make recommendations for a standard.
OSHA publishes it intentions in the Federal Register (equivalent to our Government Gazettes), and invites comments and evidence on the proposal, including the establishment of public hearings. At the end of this process, OSHA must publish in the Federal Register the full text of the standard and the effective date, along with an explanation of the standard and the reasons for implementing it.
OSHA has the right to implement an emergency standard, which can stay in force until superceded by a permanent standard. Parties not satisfied with the standard may appeal this to a judicial review board (as was the case with the corporate sector in the mid 80’s when OSHA attempted to publish revisions of the 1970 standards). Employers may also request a "variance" with the standard, if they can show that they cannot meet the standard, but can prove their commitment to protecting the health and safety of workers. They are usually granted temporary permission.
