A short-term exposure limit (STEL) is the acceptable average exposure over a short period of time, usually 15 minutes as long as the time-weighted average is not exceeded.
STEL is a term used in exposure assessment, occupational health, industrial hygiene and toxicology. The STEL may be a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a chemical substance. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S. OSHA) has set OSHA-STELs for 1,3-butadiene,29CFR1910.1051 benzene29CFR1910.1028 and ethylene oxide.29CFR1910.1047 For chemicals, STEL assessments are usually done for 15 minutes and expressed in parts per million (ppm), or sometimes in milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3).
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists publishes a more extensive list of STELs as threshold limit values (TLV-STEL).American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists __TOC__
Similar national exposure limits United Kingdom COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health). Australia OES Occupational Exposure StandardOES Occupational Exposure Standard France VLEP 8h00 (Valeur Limite d’Exposition Professionnelle 8h00) VLEP CT (Valeur Limite d’Exposition Professionnelle Court Terme) Netherlands MAC (Maximaal Aanvaarde Concentratie) Malaysia PEL (Permissible Exposure Limits) Poland NDSCh (Najwyższe dopuszczalne stężenie chwilowe) Russia ПДК (предельно допустимая концентрация)
See also Permissible exposure limit Exposure action value
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