In early February 2021, Safe Work Australia (SWA), Australia’s top body for work health and safety, opened a public consultation [1] on the remaining 168 workplace exposure standards (WESs) for airborne contaminants. Comments are set to close on July 30 this year.
Currently, SWA is evaluating the WESs for airborne contaminants to ensure the standards are developed based on high-quality evidence and supported by a rigorous scientific approach.
According to SWA, this round of comments are requested on 168 draft evaluation reports on Release 15 (Paraffin wax and others). Each draft report includes a recommended WES value, the basis of the recommendation, and a summary of data supporting the recommendation.
Notably, the recommended WES values are health-based recommendations made by expert consultants using the agreed methodology developed by SWA, and have been independently peer reviewed.
Comments are sought regarding the following two aspects:
Ø the toxicological information and data that the recommended WES value is based upon, and
Ø the measurement and analysis information provided.
The evaluation results will contribute to the development of a list of health-based recommendations for the WESs in the country.
