What should employers know about formaldehyde?
The OSHA standard that protects workers exposed to formaldehyde, Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.1048, and equivalent regulations in states with OSHA-approved state plans apply to all occupational exposures to formaldehyde from formaldehyde gas, its solutions, and materials that release formaldehyde. The permissible exposure limits (PELs) for formaldehyde in the workplace covered by the standard are 0.75 parts formaldehyde per million parts of air (0.75 ppm) measured as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA). The standard includes a second PEL in the form of a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 2 ppm that is the maximum exposure allowed during a 15-minute period. The action level — the threshold for increased industrial hygiene monitoring and initiation of employee medical surveillance — is 0.5 ppm when calculated as an 8-hour TWA.
