Efforts of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Department of Labor to Develop and Issue Health Standards

Occupational health standards are intended to prevent illness from exposure to toxic substances and harmful physical agents. Although workers are exposed to thousands of toxic substances, hundreds of which may cause cancer, standards have been established for only 15 substances as of September 30, 1976. The Secretaries of Labor and Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) should estimate, based on the best available data, the total needs for health standards and how long it will take to complete them with existing funding levels. They should also determine whether and to what extent additional funds can be used effectively to speed up standards development and to increase efforts to inform, educate, and train employers and employees concerning toxic substances. If additional funds can be used more effectively, the Secretary of Labor should allocate more funds to health standards development and health information, education, and training activities. The Secretary of HEW should require that decisions on how much effort to devote to standards development, as opposed to other National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health worker protection programs, be based partly on the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to act promptly on recommended standards.