It is important, as part of pre-construction protocols to identify hazardous building materials before beginning a restoration or remediation project. Although there are many hazardous building materials, the most common include asbestos, lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), chlorofluorocarbons, and radioactive sources.

Workers at an Ohio manufacturing company were exposed to lead, according to OSHA – along with electrical and machine guarding hazards. The OSHA inspection that uncovered those conditions lead to 26 health and safety violations against Mahle Engine Components USA Inc.

Low levels of two common metals may contribute to hearing loss, according to a study published recently in Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers found that lead and cadmium – even at levels below national workplace standards set by OSHA – can damage hearing.

Panthera Painting Inc. of Canonsburg, Pa has been cited by OSHA for 38 alleged violations—including 14 willful and 11 repeat—found at bridge work sites in Slatington, Harrisburg and Slatedale, where workers were exposed to lead and other safety and health hazards while performing abrasive blasting and repainting projects.

OSHA has cited Dlubak Glass Co. for 15 alleged health – including willful and repeat – violations, many of them related to the presence of lead, following a March inspection at one of its two Upper Sandusky plants. Proposed fines total $126,700.OSHA has cited Dlubak Glass Co. for 15 alleged health – including willful and repeat – violations, many of them related to the presence of lead, following a March inspection at one of its two Upper Sandusky plants. Proposed fines total $126,700.

OSHA has cited Franklin Non-Ferrous Foundry Inc. with four alleged willful and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards, chiefly involving a failure to protect workers from exposure to lead.

OSHA has cited Illinois Gun Works Ltd. for 28 alleged health violations following a Jan. 21 inspection referred by the Illinois Department of Public Health that found two gun range operators were exposed to airborne lead levels up to 12 times the permissible level. Proposed fines total $111,000.
 

OSHA has cited Heraeus Materials Technology LLC for exposing workers to dangerously high levels of lead and silver metal, among other violations, at the company's West Conshohocken facility.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it is accepting its advisory committee’s recommendation to redefine the level at which children are considered to have too much lead in their blood and to focus the nation’s attention on preventing lead exposure.