ASTM E1542-93(1998)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
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Designation: E 1542 – 93 (Reapproved 1998)
Standard Terminology
Relating to Occupational Health and Safety
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 1542; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope normal 8- to 10-h workday, 40-h workweek without known
adverse health effects.
1.1 The terms in this standard are used in the fields of
3.1.3 short-term exposure limit (STEL)—the 15-min time-
occupational health and of safety. The terms are used to
weighted average exposure which shall not be exceeded at any
describe the limits of exposure under different conditions, the
time during a work day, even if the Occupational Exposure
meanings of terms used in describing events and the types of
Limit is not exceeded. Exposures above the Occupational
items measured. They will commonly be used to express the
Exposure Limit up to the STEL should not be longer than 15
effect of an event or the limit of a chemical exposure on human
min and should not occur more than 4 times per day. The
beings.
minimum interval between these exposures should be 60 min.
2. Referenced Documents 3.1.3.1 Discussion—The phrase “nearly all workers” only
excludes those who are hyper-sensitive to substance exposure
2.1 ASTM Standards:
or who have known medical conditions which may be aggra-
E 591 Practice for Safety and Health Requirements Relating
vated by substance exposure. Thus most workers are included
to Occupational Exposure to Ozone
in the group in which no adverse health effects are expected.
E 752 Practice for Safety and Health Requirements Relating
The phrase “a normal 8 to 10 h workday, 40-h workweek”
to Occupational Exposure to Carbon Disulfide
refers to the type of work being done, that is, what is usually
E 848 Guide for Safety and Health Requirements Relating
done from one week to the next or one day to the next. It does
to Occupational Exposure to Water-Insoluble Chromates
not refer to length of working time as being the major
E 849 Practice for Safety and Health Requirements Relating
consideration.
to Occupational Exposure to Asbestos
The following specified periods of time must be addressed
E 1132 Practice for Health Requirements Relating to Occu-
either by determining a value or by stating the “time” is not
pational Exposure to Quartz Dust
addressed:
E 1156 Practice for Health Requirements for Occupational
a) workday (number of hours specified)
Exposure to Synthetic Amorphous Silica
b) workweek (number of hours specified)
3. Terminology
c) lifetime (that is, cumulative)
d) very short term maximum (for example, short-term
3.1 Generic Terms and their Definitions:
exposure limit, ceiling, etc.)
3.1.1 ceiling limit—an exposure which shall not be ex-
Other specified periods of time may be addressed.
ceeded during any part of the workday. If instantaneous
3.2 Terminology Based on Existing E-34 Standards:
monitoring is not feasible, then the ceiling limit shall be
3.2.1 occupational exposure limit to asbestos—the maxi-
assessed as a 15-min time-weighted average exposure which
mum time weighted average (TWA) number of asbestiform
shall not be exceeded at any time over a working day except for
fibers to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly subjected
substances which cause immediate irritation upon short expo-
over a normal day or a 40-h week and the peak number of
sure.
asbestiform fibers to which an individual may be subjected
3.1.2 occupational exposure limit XXXXX, “generic
...