AIHA supports NIOSH’s proposed new risk-based carcinogen classification policy
NIOSH would no longer consider technical achievability to control exposures
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) expresses its appreciation to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the opportunity to comment on the NIOSH Draft Current Intelligence Bulletin “Update of NIOSH Carcinogen Classification and Target Risk Level Policy for Chemical Hazards in the Workplace.” The Notice of Draft Document was published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2013, Volume 78, No. 221, Page 68849.
The new classification policy proposed by NIOSH uses the assessment scheme currently used by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). AIHA supports this approach because it will enhance harmonization and will keep NIOSH from the additional cost of time and resources to find an alternate acceptable approach.