Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Guidelines on Radon
"The employer must exercise reasonable diligence in doing the testing"
Quoting OSHA -"Please be advised that 29 CFR 1910.1096 applies to all workplaces except state and local governments, marine terminals, agricultural operations, construction operations and workplaces exempted from OSHA jurisdiction by section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Section 4(b)(1) reads: Nothing in this Act shall apply to working conditions of employees with respect to which other Federal agencies, and State agencies acting under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2021), exercise statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or health."
OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1926.53 applies to ionizing radiation hazards in the construction industry. That standard incorporates by reference provisions that are comparable to those contained in 29 CFR 1910.1096.
Isn't 29 CFR 1910.1096 for hospitals, nuclear plants, and places that use radioactive materials only?
An employer possesses radioactive material and comes under the scope of 29 CFR 1910.1096 if there are artificially enhanced concentrations of environmental radon-222 in the workplace. If environmental radon-222 concentrations have not been artificially enhanced, they are very much lower than the permissible exposure limit (PEL) Accordingly, only artificially enhanced concentrations of environmental radon-222 would be sufficiently high that provisions of 29 CFR 1910.1096 would go into effect. The most common places for significant artificial enhancement of radon-222 concentrations to occur are the inside of buildings or other types of enclosures constructed on or in the ground.
29 CFR 1910.1096 covers Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Accordingly, the definition of airborne radioactivity area applies to areas that contain airborne NORM.
Why isn't OSHA testing my business, then?
Actually, they don't have to. Under 29 CFR 1910.1096(d)(1), it's the responsibility of the employer to perform the testing. The employer must exercise reasonable diligence in doing the testing - and the OSHA definition of reasonable diligence means if the radon level in the area could be high, then the employer must test.
What's an airborne radioactivity area?
Any room, enclosure, or operating area in which airborne radioactive
materials, composed wholly or partly of radioactive material, exist in
concentrations in excess of the amounts specified in the OSHA table.
For example, an airborne radioactivity area would exist in an area where an employee worked for 40 hours per week and the radon-222 concentration is greater than 7.5 picocuries per liter (pCi/L)
Any area exceeding 7.5 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). requires employee
monitoring and restricted access to the area by the public.
Then what?
Warning signs would be required to be posted in the area, and access restricted.
Couldn't we mitigate the radon then?
OSHA actually goes with the EPA on this, and recommends mitigation if the radon level is above the residential guideline of 4.0 pCi/L. Taking corrective action is required if excess exposure to radiation is found - so, yes, mitigation is an option.
What are the key radon levels ?
The radon level for mitigation is 4.0 pCi/L The radon level requiring a business to post signs warning of an airborne radiation hazard is 7.5 pCi/L.
Contact MuscleRide LLC. Radon Mitigation for More information on Radon in the Workplace