Why is control banding useful?
The occupational exposure limit (OEL) is the marker that shows the level of control needed for a chemical. Repeated daily exposure by inhaling a chemical at an airborne concentration below its OEL is unlikely to lead to harm in most workers. However, many thousands of chemicals are in use, and it is not possible to have an OEL for every chemical, chemical mixture, fume, or emission. Nonetheless, it is possible to determine the broad hazard group to which a chemical belongs (Table 1) and on that basis to determine the necessary level of control, or control band.
