Cal/OSHA Issues Clarification on Lead Safety Rules for Abrasive Blasting in Construction
Updated rules clarify how to protect construction workers from lead exposure during dry abrasive blasting.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- May 07, 2025
Cal/OSHA has issued updated guidance clarifying how construction employers must protect workers performing dry abrasive blasting under California’s recently amended lead standards.
The revised regulation, part of Title 8, Section 1532.1 of the California Code of Regulations, went into effect on January 1, 2025. It outlines specific exposure assessment requirements and time limits for abrasive blasting activities unless employers determine actual exposure levels through monitoring.
Under subsection (d), employers must conduct exposure assessments for any employee who may be exposed to lead on the job site, including those performing dry abrasive blasting. Until an assessment is completed, employers must limit blasting activities to no more than five hours per day. This temporary limit becomes more stringent in 2030, when the maximum drops to two hours per day in the absence of an assessment.
If exposure monitoring is conducted and shows compliance with permissible exposure limits, the daily time restriction no longer applies. However, employers must still ensure that exposure levels do not exceed regulatory thresholds, including reductions afforded by proper respirator use.
Currently, the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for lead during abrasive blasting is 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which will be reduced to 10 micrograms per cubic meter beginning January 1, 2030.
For instance, if workers are properly using respirators with a protection factor of 1,000, they may be exposed to up to 25,000 micrograms per cubic meter of air through 2030, since the respirator would reduce the effective exposure to the allowable 25 micrograms. Starting in 2030, the maximum allowable air concentration under the same conditions would be 10,000 micrograms per cubic meter.
Cal/OSHA advises employers to refer to Table 1 of Section 5144 on Respiratory Protection to determine assigned protection factors for various respirators.
The updated regulation is part of a broader effort to better safeguard workers from long-term health effects associated with lead exposure in construction settings.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.