NIOSH conducts research on occupational hazards, publishes recommended exposure limits, evaluates workplace health hazards on request, and develops criteria documents supporting standard setting.
It recommends rather than enforces, which distinguishes it from OSHA.
Alternative Names:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Why it Matters?
NIOSH recommended exposure limits are frequently more protective than OSHA's enforceable permissible limits, which creates an argument in occupational exposure cases that compliance with OSHA standards did not satisfy the standard of care. Criteria documents and health hazard evaluations also establish what was known about a hazard and when, which supports notice arguments in latent disease litigation.
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Frequently asked questions
How do NIOSH limits differ from OSHA standards?
Why does that difference matter?
