OSHA: The 1983 Emergency Temporary Standard for Asbestos

In 1983 OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for asbestos, lowering the permissible exposure limit from 2 fibers per cubic centimeter (2 f/cc) to 0.5 f/cc.

In the preamble to the ETS, which also constituted a proposal for a revised permanent standard, OSHA raised the possibility of revising the definition of "asbestos" and "asbestos fiber" and included an extensive discussion of the relative carcinogenicity and toxicity of different fibers.

As with the 1972 standard, OSHA concluded there was no basis to regulate fiber types differently. The ETS itself was vacated by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on March 7, 1984 for reasons not related to the issue of the mineralogical definition of asbestos.

Courtesy of http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=PREAMBLES&p_id=784

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