Recommended Exposure Limit

A Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) is an occupational exposure limit that has been recommended by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to OSHA for adoption as a Permissible Exposure Limit. The REL is a level that NIOSH believes would be protective of worker safety and health over a working lifetime if used in combination with engineering and work practice controls, exposure and medical monitoring, posting and labeling of hazards, worker training and personal protective equipment. No REL has ever been adopted by OSHA, but they have been used as guides by some industry and advocacy organizations.

Additional recommended knowledge

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RELs for chemical exposures are usually expressed in parts per million (ppm), or sometimes in milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m³).

Although not legally enforceable limits, NIOSH RELs are considered by OSHA during the promulgation of legally-enforceable PELs.