You may need to complete this notification if your business undertakes work which may expose employees to dangerous levels of lead (lead processes). Examples of lead processes include:
- work exposing a person to lead dust or lead fumes from the manufacture or handling of dry lead compounds
- spraying with molten lead metal or alloys containing greater than five per cent weight of lead metal
- radiator repairs involving exposure to lead dust or fumes
- spray painting with lead paint.
As an employer, you have a responsibility to take measures to control risks to health from exposure to lead. You have an obligation to review each lead process you undertake to identify whether it is a lead-risk job.
You will need to notify the Agency if a lead process has been identified as being a lead-risk job. A lead-risk job means a job in which the blood lead level of the employee is reasonably likely to exceed either:
- 0.97 micromoles/litre (20 micrograms/decilitre)
- 0.24 micromoles/litre (5 micrograms/decilitre) for a woman of reproductive capacity
If you identify that a lead process is a lead-risk job you must notify the Agency within seven days.