---
pretty_name: "OSHA medical surveillance trigger thresholds by substance"
license: other
license_name: source-terms-cited
license_link: https://referencesource.org/osha-medical-surveillance-triggers/
language:
- en
tags:
- reference-data
- provenance
- referencesource-org
configs:
- config_name: default
  data_files:
  - split: train
    path: data/records.jsonl
---
# OSHA medical surveillance trigger thresholds by substance

**Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/osha-medical-surveillance-triggers/**
Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/osha-medical-surveillance-triggers/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.

- **Last verified:** 2026-08-12
- **Stale after:** 2027-02-08 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy —
  it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
- **Records:** 23

The airborne exposure level that triggers mandatory medical surveillance under each OSHA substance-specific standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z), compared across all regulated substances. Each record is one substance, carrying its action level, PEL, the exposure duration that triggers surveillance, the medical exam scope and frequency, biological monitoring requirements if any, and the record retention period. Answers 'what is the action level for lead', 'at what exposure must I provide medical exams for benzene workers', 'how often does cadmium biological monitoring need to happen', and 'which OSHA substances require 40-year record retention'. The action level is typically half the PEL but not always, and the surveillance trigger conditions vary wildly: lead uses blood lead levels, cadmium uses urine cadmium, and most others use airborne concentration plus days-per-year thresholds.

## Provenance — what every record carries

Every record carries `source` (the URL the value was read from) and
`source_quote` (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you
cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one;
these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on
the canonical site at its `url`.

## Licence position

US federal regulation — 17 USC 105, no copyright

Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a
fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.

## Sources

- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1044
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1051
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1003
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1045
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1001
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1028
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1024
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1030
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1027
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1029
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1043
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1047
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1048
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.120
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1026
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1018
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1025
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1052
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1050
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.95
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1053
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.134
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.1017

## Fields

See any record in `data/records.jsonl` — field names are self-describing,
and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels:
https://referencesource.org/osha-medical-surveillance-triggers/