Extensive changes to occupational exposure limits in Korea

Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are used as an important tool to protect workers from adverse chemical exposures and its detrimental effects on their health. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) can establish and publish OELs based on the Industrial Safety and Health Act in Korea. The first set of OELs was announced by the MOL in 1986. At that time, it was identical to the Threshold Limit Values of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Until 2006, none the first OELs except for those of three chemicals (asbestos, benzene, and 2-bromopropane) were updated during the last twenty years. The Hazardous Agents Review Committee established under the MOL selected 126 chemicals from 698 chemicals covered by OELs using several criteria. From 2005 to 2006, the MOL provided research funds for academic institutions and toxicological laboratories to gather the evidence documenting the need to revise the outdated OELs. Finally, the MOL notified the revised OELs for 126 chemicals from 2007 to 2008. The revised OELs of 58 substances from among these chemicals were lowered to equal or less than half the value of the original OELs. This is the most substantial change in the history of OEL revisions in Korea.