The Minister for Manpower (MOM)is empowered by the Workplace Safety and Health Act (since March 2006; former Factories Act) to specify the Permissible Exposure Levels (PEL) of toxic substances by notification.
Two types of PELs are specified in the notification:
The PELs are the maximum time weighted average concentrations of toxic substances to which persons may be exposed to, and were first established in 1997 on the recom-mendation of the Chemical Hazard Management Committee following assessment by the Occupational Health Department’s Industrial Hygiene Engineers and Specialist Medical Advisers. The Committee consisted of representatives from the Ministry and relevant stakeholders and agencies.
The PELs are periodically reviewed and the reviews take into consideration the scien-tific basis for establishing the PEL including the reasons for the revision, comparison of the various exposure standards developed in industrialised countries, the usage and local exposure levels, the potential impact to local industry and whether local in-dustry can comply with the new standards.
Since 1997, the PELs have been gazetted in the Republic of Singapore Government Gazette, under the Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations, a subsidiary legislation under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Permissible Exposure Levels of Toxic Substances
(1st schedule in Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) Regulations)
Tang, Tan Kia; Siang, Lee Hock; Koh, David: The development and regulation of occupational exposure limits in Singapore. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 46 (2006) 136–141;