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S2170-07-12 - ATTACHMENT D T8 CCR §1532.1 Inorganic Lead - Appendix A Page D-3 of 3 June 2022 Once your blood lead level climbs about 40 µg/dl, your risk of disease increases. There is a wide variability of individual response to lead, thus it is difficult to say that a particular BLL in a given person will cause a particular effect. Studies have associated fatal encephalopathy with BLLs as low as 150 µg/dl. Other studies have shown other forms of diseases in some workers with BLLs well below 80 µg/dl. Your BLL is a crucial indicator of the risks to your health, but one other factor is also extremely important. This factor is the length of time you have had elevated BLLs. The longer you have an elevated BLL, the greater the risk that large quantities of lead are being gradually stored in your organs and tissues (body burden). The greater your overall body burden, the greater the chances of substantial permanent damage. The best way to prevent all forms of lead-related impairments and diseases -- both short term and long term -- is to maintain your BLL below 40 µg/dl. The provisions of the standard are designed with this end in mind. Your employer has prime responsibility to assure that the provisions of the standard are complied with both by the company and by individual workers. You, as a worker, however, also have a responsibility to assist your employer in complying with the standard. You can play a key role in protecting your own health by learning about the lead hazards and their control, learning what the standard requires, following the standard where it governs your own actions, and seeing that your employer complies with provisions governing his or her actions. 4. Reporting signs and symptoms of health problems. You should immediately notify your employer if you develop signs or symptoms associated with lead poisoning or if you desire medical advice concerning the effects of current or past exposure to lead or your ability to have a healthy child. You should also notify your employer if you have difficulty breathing during a respirator fit test or while wearing a respirator. In each of these cases, your employer must make available to you appropriate medical examinations or consultations. These must be provided at no cost to you and at a reasonable time and place. The standard contains a procedure whereby you can obtain a second opinion by a physician of your choice if your employer selected the initial physician.