The TRGS900 occupational exposure limits
In order to ensure the health and safety of employees, occupational health and safety in Germany is regulated and structured by numerous laws and ordinances.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) sets out the basic obligations of the employer, the rights and obligations of employees and the monitoring of occupational health and safety in all areas of activity. This law is specified by various occupational health and safety regulations. Technical and occupational health regulations can supplement and further specify these requirements.
The Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances (TRGS) are drawn up by the Committee for Hazardous Substances (AGS) and reflect the state of the art, occupational medicine and occupational hygiene as well as other proven scientific findings for activities involving hazardous substances. They serve as important guidelines for the implementation of the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) and help to ensure the protection of workers' health.
TRGS 900 specifies the occupational exposure limit values (OELs) for hazardous substances in the air at the workplace. These specify the maximum concentration at which no harmful effects on health are generally to be expected. These limit values are essential for risk assessment and the determination of protective measures at the workplace.
Amendment June 2024 for amorphous silicas
In order to always comply with the latest findings and EU law, all technical regulations are constantly reviewed and updated as necessary. This most recently concerned TRGS 900.
In June 2024, changes to TRGS 900 regarding the occupational exposure limit values (OELs) were announced. The changes can be viewed in detail here on the baua website. One of the main changes concerns amorphous silica.
For amorphous silicas, which also include fumed silicas and silicas produced in the wet process such as precipitated silica and silica gel, the OEL has been adjusted.
Limit value for e-dust reduced from 4000 µg/m³ to 1000 µg/m³.
This creates uncertainty as to whether the current processes for preventing dust are still sufficient for the new limits and whether employees can work safely.
This is where our new Dustlight update comes into play, which enables specific configurations for certain applications. As a result, we can also offer an indicative measurement of e-dust for defined substances, which can be used to estimate the e-dust level and assess it based on the new limit values. This adaptation of the algorithm is being carried out in several tests on the dust test bench at the IGF in Dortmund.
When the material specification for amorphous silica is selected, the measured variable is automatically changed from respirable dust to E-dust and the new limit value is adopted. As before, the limit value can also be adjusted manually.
These specific adaptations of our dust algorithm are of course not only possible for amorphous silica, but also for a variety of other substances.
If you are interested in having Dustlight customized for your exact application, simply contact us via our form below and we will find an individual solution.