An occupational exposure limit is an upper limit on the acceptable concentration

Concentration

In chemistry, concentration is defined as the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Four types can be distinguished: mass concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration...

 of a hazardous substance in workplace air for a particular material or class of materials. It is typically set by competent national authorities and enforced by legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

 to protect occupational safety and health

Occupational safety and health

Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...

. It can be a tool in risk assessment

Risk assessment

Risk assessment is a step in a risk management procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat...

 and in the management of activities involving handling of dangerous substances.. There are many dangerous substances for which there are no formal occupational exposure limits. In these cases, control banding

Control banding

Control banding is a qualitative or semi-quantitative risk assessment and management approach to promoting occupational health and safety. It is intended to minimize worker exposures to hazardous chemicals and other risk factors in the workplace and to help small businesses by providing an...

strategies can be used to ensure safe handling.