Lead Rulemaking
Background
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) would like to invite interested stakeholders to participate in a series of meetings to develop recommendations to update the current occupational lead standards and other future strategies to reduce worker lead exposures in the state.
We share a goal of providing a safe and healthy work environment for employees. Business, labor, federal, state and local government representatives have worked hard to prevent occupational exposure to lead. We would like to leverage everyone's experience to prevent further occupational lead exposure.
Workers that work directly with lead or disturb lead are at risk for exposure. Construction workers disturbing paint containing lead during renovation and remodel of structures including bridges and homes face the risk of lead exposure. Workers manufacturing lead acid batteries and soldering on electronics may be exposed to lead. Lead may build up in a worker's body over months and years, potentially causing serious long-term health problems.
In 2013, we received a request to review our lead standards. As a result of the request we established a diverse and representative stakeholder group to discuss our lead standards, and subsequently filed a preproposal (CR-101) with the Washington State Code Reviser in April 2016 to officially begin the rulemaking process. We are currently working with this stakeholder group to determine the scope of our proposed rule changes and will continue working with the group as we begin drafting proposed rule language. Meetings are open to the public and will include representatives from business, labor, and government.
Rule drafts and related documents
- New: DRAFT DOSH Lead Rule - April 2018 (1.33 MB PDF).
DRAFT Lead Rule Map - May 2018 (93 KB PDF).- DRAFT Significant Changes - May, 2018 (157 KB PDF).
- DRAFT Lead Worker Poster (380 KB PDF).
- Discussion Draft - June 2017 (953 KB PDF).
Upcoming meeting info
DOSH completed its review of the second draft rule with stakeholders over several meetings held throughout the summer of 2018. Staff are currently working toward a third draft to be released to the public in advance of a CR-102 rule proposal filing. Stay tuned for updates.
Stakeholder letters
- ACOEM Position Statement (793 KB PDF).
- Alliance for Gun Responsibility (300 KB PDF).
- American Industrial Hygiene Association (88 KB PDF).
- Association of Local Public Health Officials (166 KB PDF).
- Battery Council International Letter (187 KB PDF).
- CenturyLink (59 KB PDF).
- Costco Wholesale Corporation's (126 KB PDF).
- Dept of Environmental & Occupational Health Services, UW School of Public Health (277 KB PDF).
- Grant Count Public Utility Districts (921 KB PDF).
- INND (Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders) (503 KB PDF).
- Pacific Northwest Section American Industrial Hygiene Association (480 KB PDF).
- Public Health – Seattle & King County comments on discussion draft October 2017 (1.2 MB PDF).
- Public Health – Seattle & King County Recommendations, June 2016 (122 KB PDF).
- Public Health Association (75 KB PDF).
- Puget Sound Energy (219 KB PDF).
- Rulemaking petition from Dr. David Fleming to Governor Jay Inslee (77 KB PDF).
- Rulemaking petition from Dr. David Fleming to L&I (104 KB PDF).
- Tacoma-Pierce County rulemaking comments (359 KB PDF).
- University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine (705 KB PDF).
- Washington Poison Center (349 KB PDF).
- Washington Sheriffs Association (240 KB PDF).
- Washington State Dept. of Health (279 KB PDF).
More information and resources
- Lead Safety topic page.
- California Department of Public Health, Blood Lead Levels in California Workers (archive.cdph.ca.gov).
- Introduction to the health effects of lead (2 MB PDF).
- Occupational Lead Exposure Poster (704 KB PDF).
- Occupational Lead Standards - Objective (625 KB PDF).
- Reducing occupational lead exposures: Strengthened standards for a healthy workforce (452 KB PDF).
- Updating Washington State’s Occupational Lead Standards presentation (1 MB PDF).
Previous meeting reports
July 27, 2018
July 27, 2018
June 8, 2018
May 9, 2018
May 4, 2018
- May 4, 2018, Meeting Summary (498 KB PDF).
- May 2018 DOSH Lead Rulemaking Status (313 KB PDF).
- May 2018 DOSH Lead Rulemaking Draft Overview (618 KB PDF) .
Oct. 20, 2017
- International Lead Association Presentation (1 MB PDF).
- Battery Council International Presentation (154 KB PDF).
Aug. 31, 2017
Aug. 9, 2017
July 18, 2017
June 29, 2017
June 10, 2016
- June 10, 2016, meeting summary (140 KB PDF).
Rulemaking Status Presentation (255 KB PPTX).
2006 Archival DOSH Lead Rulemaking Documents (1.3 MB ZIP)*
*Note: This is NOT a current rulemaking proposal. The documents contained in this folder are from a previous DOSH lead rulemaking effort ending in 2006 that ultimately did not result in the adoption of any rule changes or new rules. We have posted these documents here because the current stakeholder group will be reviewing the previous proposal as part of our current rulemaking effort, but we may or may not decide to incorporate elements of the previous proposal into a new rulemaking proposal.
Feb. 17, 2016
- Feb. 17, 2016, Meeting Summary (34 KB PDF).
- Lead Sampling & Analysis (Phil Peters) (133 KB PDF).
- The DOSH Rulemaking Process (Kevin Walder) (685 KB PDF).
- DOSH Workplace Safety and Health Jurisdiction (Alan Lundeen) (378 KB PDF).
Older meetings
- Materials for the January 2016 meeting (1.51 MB ZIP).
- Dr. Kosnett's presentation on Lead Exposure (youtu.be).
- Dec. 14, 2015, meeting summary (279 KB PDF).
- Oct. 21, 2015, meeting summary (116 KB PDF).
For additional information about meetings, contact Kevin Walder.
Get updates via email
An email list has been set up for L&I to share information about this workgroup and the meetings. Select the "Lead Safety" topic when you sign up to receive email updates.
