AIHA Occupational Exposure Limits Committee, Formerly WEEL Committee, Returns to AIHA

October 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM EDT

Over 45 years ago AIHA—the association for scientists and professionals committed to preserving and ensuring occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS)—realized the worker safety gap created by the lack of clear occupational exposure limit (OEL) guidelines for the workplace. Motivated to fill this need, the Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEEL) Committee was born.

In 2013, the WEEL Committee operated under the auspices of the nonprofit Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) and, at times, the University of Cincinnati. As of October 2024, the Committee has elected to return to management by AIHA. While TERA has opted to retain the WEEL trademark, the experts and processes will return to AIHA under the new designation “AIHA Occupational Exposure Limit Committee.”

The Committee members view AIHA as an intuitive next step in growing their resources and reaching the audience needed to support the development and communication of this important work at no charge to the greater OEHS community. In addition, AIHA integrated the Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPG) initiative in 1987. ERPGs are air concentration guidelines for single exposures to agents that individuals may encounter during emergency response situations and share data complimentary to an OEL.

Combined with other OELs such as ACGIH’s Threshold Limit Values (TLVs), OSHA’s permissible exposure limits (PELs), and AIHA’s ERPGs, workplace assessment has become dramatically more efficient. Unfortunately, the current number of chemicals and mixtures —estimated at over 350,000—far exceeds the roughly 1,000 developed OELs. By rejoining AIHA, Committee members hope to further this initiative and protect more workers and communities.

About AIHA

AIHA is the association for scientists and professionals committed to preserving and ensuring occupational and environmental health and safety in the workplace and community. Founded in 1939, we support our members with expertise, networks, comprehensive education programs, products, and services that help them maintain the highest professional and competency standards. More than half of AIHA's nearly 8,500 members are Certified Industrial Hygienists, and many hold other professional designations. AIHA serves as a resource for those employed across the public and private sectors, as well as to the communities in which they work.