Setting occupational exposure limits for sensory irritants: The approach in the European Union

Beginning in 1990, the European Commission initiated a program to establish European Union (EU)-wide occupational exposure limits (OELs). As in the Un ited States and other countries, a panel of experts known as the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) was identified and broug ht together to identify the proper values. This article describes the appro ach used by SCOEL to identify appropriate values for sensory irritants. The EU panel believes that irritant effects in the eyes and respiratory tract can produce symptoms that range from trivial to serious, and that responses to irritants may be viewed as belonging to a continuum. One of the interes ting differences between the approach used by the ACGIH TLV (R) committee a nd the SCOEL is the use of five grades of irritation to evaluate this class of chemicals. For purposes of setting an OEL, the SCOEL makes no distincti on between irritation or nuisance and related somatic effects such as heada che. How the committee established an OEL for ethyl acetate is offered as a n illustrative example.