WEL Workplace Exposure Limit
Workplace Exposure Limits:
All's WEL That Ends WEL
If you work in an industry that is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) such as the manual labour, industrial or construction sectors, you will need to be aware of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health standards known as COSHH.
This means that legally, employees must limit your exposure to harmful air pollutants such as paints, solvents, silica, wood dust and the fumes from cleaning chemicals by using products like face masks and respirators to protect your lungs. These are the Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL).
The amount of exposure you are subject to varies depending on how long you are in that environment, your safety equiptment and how damaging the airborne particals are.
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The WEL Safety Standards Explained
The ratings are broken down in two specific ways:
Long Term Exposure Limit (LTEL)
This is the rating used for periods over 8-hours which could lead to chronic ill health.
Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL)
This is the limit for periods over 15-minutes which can have immediate acute effects.
The WEL rating of a product is found on the safety data sheets and should be compared to the rating of your PPE.
