Protect your workers from lead exposure

Employers are legally required to provide safe workspaces free from exposure to lead. Reducing or eliminating lead in the workplace will help you keep workers healthy and on the job.

Learn more about how lead exposure can harm worker health.

View a list of jobs, hobbies, and other sources of lead exposure.

Cal/OSHA Lead Standards — Updated

Revised Cal/OSHA occupational lead standards for construction and general industry go into effect on January 1, 2025. Employers are required to follow these regulations to protect their employees from lead hazards on the job and to avoid Cal/OSHA citation(s) for non-compliance.

Read the revised Cal/OSHA Occupational Lead Standards for construction
Read the revised Cal/OSHA Occupational Lead Standards for general industry

Establish a Lead Compliance Program

To prevent worker exposure to lead, employers are required to implement and regularly update a written lead compliance program. The program must include engineering and work practice controls, and ensure safe worker habits, available and effective personal protective equipment, and effective housekeeping and hygiene practices.

Additional information on lead compliance is available in the Cal/OSHA Occupational Lead Standards (PDF), Section (e).

Identify and assess lead hazards

To ensure a lead-safe workplace, routinely identify products and environments that contain lead, and measure and document airborne lead concentrations.

Learn more about how to identify and assess lead hazards at your workplace.

Reduce and eliminate the use of lead

To reduce your workers’ exposures to airborne lead, substitute lead-free materials and eliminate high exposure tasks where possible. Change the environment and employ effective practices, including providing personal protective equipment.

Find more information about reducing and eliminating exposure to lead at your workplace.

Provide worker training

To ensure that workers know the risks of working with lead, employers are required to provide workers with training about the lead hazards associated with their jobs, how to protect themselves at work, practices and habits to reduce exposures at work, and how to prevent take-home lead exposures.

Learn more about training workers in lead-safe practices and protecting their families by avoiding take-home exposures.

Washing facilities and break areas

To prevent health risks and lead take-home exposures, employers are required to provide areas for changing into and out of work clothes, areas for meals and breaks, and adequate washing facilities.

Learn the requirements for providing lead-safe facilities at your workplace.

Establish a medical program

To ensure that workers receive adequate medical protections under the guidance of a physician or licensed health care provider, employers are required to set up and maintain a blood lead testing and medical examination program, and establish a medical removal plan for workers with elevated blood lead levels.

Learn about instituting medical protections for workers exposed to lead.

For Assistance

For information and assistance in conducting air monitoring and implementing other elements of the Occupational Lead Standards, contact the Cal/OSHA Consultation Unit, or the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s list of consultants in your area.

Information for shooting range operators