Labor-Management Initiative Spurs OSHA to Cut Pel – 1,000-Fold for Cancer-Causing Butadiene

FRESNO - Almost 10,000 workers will be better protected from cancer and other hazards under a new standard for exposure to the chemical 1, 3-butadiene announced October 24 by Fed-OSHA. The permissible exposure limit (PEL) for 1,3-butadiene (BD) has been reduced from 1,000 parts per million parts of air (ppm) to 1 ppm. About 9,700 workers at 255 facilities nationwide are potentially exposed to BD. An industry epi (human) study submitted to OSHA late in 1995 showed that BD is a human carcinogen.B