Vermont Permissible Exposure Limits: What you need to know

Vermont has adopted the federal safety and health rules for computing permissible exposure limits (PELs) for air contaminants in general industry workplaces by reference (VAR 24-050-004), and has adopted PELs for certain chemicals that are stricter than the federal PELs.

The Vermont Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration (VOSHA) administers and enforces safety and health rules for private and public sector workplaces in the state.

Vermont has adopted the 1989-1992 version of the federal "Z tables" of air contaminants that contain stricter exposure limits for many substances than the current federal PEL rule (Z tables at 29 CFR 1910.1000).

Federal OSHA had revised its Z tables of hazardous substances and PELs in the 1980s to include the substances adopted by Washington's standards, but in 1989 a federal circuit court struck down the OSHA revisions. At least eight other states, including California, Oregon, and Michigan, retained OSHA Z tables from 1989 which are stricter than existing federal standards.

PEL table. For a copy of the PEL table, click http://labor.vermont.gov/wordpress/wp-content/uploads//VTPELs.pdf