TLV/BEI Policy Statement

Policy Statement on the Uses of TLVs and BEIs

The Threshold Limit Values (TLVs®) and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs®) are developed as guidelines to assist in the control of health hazards. These recommendations or guidelines are intended for use in the practice of industrial hygiene, to be interpreted and applied only by a person trained in this discipline. They are not developed for use as legal standards and ACGIH® does not advocate their use as such. However, it is recognized that in certain circumstances individuals or organizations may wish to make use of these recommendations or guidelines as a supplement to their occupational safety and health program. ACGIH will not oppose their use in this manner, if the use of TLVs and BEIs in these instances will contribute to the overall improvement in worker protection. However, the user must recognize the constraints and limitations subject to their proper use and bear the responsibility for such use.

The Introductions to the TLV/BEI Book and the TLV/BEI Documentation provide the philosophical and practical bases for the uses and limitations of the TLVs and BEIs. To extend those uses of the TLVs and BEIs to include other applications, such as use without the judgment of an industrial hygienist, application to a different population, development of new exposure/recovery time models, or new effect endpoints, stretches the reliability and even viability of the database for the TLV or BEI as evidenced by the individual Documentation.

It is not appropriate for individuals or organizations to impose on the TLVs or the BEIs their concepts of what the TLVs or BEIs should be or how they should be applied or to transfer regulatory standards requirements to the TLVs or BEIs.

 


Approved by the ACGIH Board of Directors on March 1, 1988.


Special Note to User

The values listed in this book are intended for use in the practice of industrial hygiene as guidelines or recommendations to assist in the control of potential workplace health hazards and for no other use. These values are not fine lines between safe and dangerous concentrations and should not be used by anyone untrained in the discipline of industrial hygiene. It is imperative that the user of this book read the Introduction to each section and be familiar with the Documentation of the TLVs® and BEIs® before applying the recommendations contained herein. ACGIH® disclaims liability with respect to the use of the TLVs® and BEIs®.
Statement of Position Regarding the TLVs and BEIs