Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)RegulationsLead Regulations, 200111. Control of exposure to lead |
| (1) | An employer or self-employed person shall ensure that the exposure of a person to lead is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled: Provided that the control of the exposure shall be regarded as adequate if— |
| (a) | the level of airborne lead is— |
| (i) | at or below the OEL; or |
| (ii) | above the OEL but the reason has been identified and action has been taken, as soon is reasonably practicable to lower the airborne level by means other than respiratory protective equipment, so that it does not exceed the OEL for lead; or |
| (b) | in the case of exposure to— |
| (i) | ingestible lead, the blood lead level is less than 20 µg/100ml or |
| (ii) | lead alkyls, the urinary lead level is less than 120 µg/l. |
| (2) | Where reasonably practicable, an employer or a self-employed person shall control a person's exposure to lead by— |
| (a) | using a substitute for lead or lead-containing material; |
| (b) | limiting the number of persons who will be exposed or may be exposed; |
| (c) | limiting the period during which a person will be exposed or may be exposed; |
| (d) | limiting the amount of lead that may contaminate the working environment; |
| (e) | introducing the following engineering control measures for the control of exposure— |
| (i) | Process separation, automation or enclosure; |
| (ii) | the installation of local extraction ventilation systems to processes, equipment or tools for the control of emissions of airborne lead; |
| (iii) | the use of wet methods where appropriate; |
| (iv) | separate workplaces for different processes; |
| (v) | the identification of early corrective action to be taken; and |
| (f) | introducing appropriate written work procedures that an employee must follow to ensure that— |
| (i) | lead is safely handled, used and disposed of; |
| (ii) | process machinery, installations, equipment, tools, local extraction and general ventilation systems are safely used and maintained; and |
| (iii) | early corrective action regarding the control of lead exposure can be taken. |
| (3) | The employer or self-employed person shall ensure that the release of lead into any environment or water system complies with the provisions of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, 1965 (Act No. 45 of 1965), the Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act No. 73 of 1989), the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 19981, and the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998). |