Section 56.5001T - [Effective until 4/8/2026] Exposure limits for airborne contaminantsAs of April 8, 2026 the following is required, except as permitted by § 56.5005 -
(a)TLVs standard. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section and in part 60 of this chapter, the exposure to airborne contaminants shall not exceed, on the basis of a time weighted average, the threshold limit values adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, as set forth and explained in the 1973 edition of the Conference's publication, entitled TLV's Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances in Workroom Air Adopted by ACGIH for 1973, pages 1 through 54. This publication is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51 . This incorporation by reference (IBR) material is available for inspection at the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Contact MSHA at: MSHA's Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th Street South, Arlington, VA 22202-5450; (202) 693-9440; or at any Mine Safety and Health Enforcement District Office. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations or email fr.inspection@nara.gov. The material may be obtained from American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, 1330 Kemper Meadow Drive, Attn: Customer Service, Cincinnati, OH 45240; www.acgih.org.(b)Asbestos standard - (1)Definitions. Asbestos is a generic term for a number of asbestiform hydrated silicates that, when crushed or processed, separate into flexible fibers made up of fibrils. Asbestos means chrysotile, cummingtonite-grunerite asbestos (amosite), crocidolite, anthophylite asbestos, tremolite asbestos, and actinolite asbestos.
Asbestos fiber means a fiber of asbestos that meets the criteria of a fiber.
Fiber means a particle longer than 5 micrometers ([MICRO]m) with a length-to-diameter ratio of at least 3-to-1.
(2)Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)-(i)Full-shift limit. A miner's personal exposure to asbestos shall not exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average full-shift airborne concentration of 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air (f/cc).(ii)Excursion limit. No miner shall be exposed at any time to airborne concentrations of asbestos in excess of 1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air (f/cc) as averaged over a sampling period of 30 minutes.(3)Measurement of airborne asbestos fiber concentration. Potential asbestos fiber concentration shall be determined by phase contrast microscopy (PCM) using the OSHA Reference Method in OSHA's asbestos standard found in 29 CFR 1910.1001 , Appendix A, or a method at least equivalent to that method in identifying a potential asbestos exposure exceeding the 0.1 f/cc full-shift limit or the 1 f/cc excursion limit. When PCM results indicate a potential exposure exceeding the 0.1 f/cc full-shift limit or the 1 f/cc excursion limit, samples shall be further analyzed using transmission electron microscopy according to NIOSH Method 7402 or a method at least equivalent to that method.(c)Required action. Employees shall be withdrawn from areas where there is present an airborne contaminant given a "C" designation by the Conference and the concentration exceeds the threshold limit value listed for that contaminant.