Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 46 (2006) 120–125 www.elsevier.com/locate/yrtph 0273-2300/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2006.01.009 The development and regulation of occupational exposure limits in Japan Ken Takahashi a,¤ , Toshiaki Higashi b a Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu City 807-8555, Japan b Department of Work Systems and Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu City 807-8555, Japan Received 29 June 2005 Available online 28 February 2006 Abstract The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, on an administrative basis, establishes and supervises the Administrative Concentration Level, which can be viewed as an Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) legally binding employers to maintain a good working environ- ment. The Japan Society for Occupational Health, on a scientiWc basis, establishes the Recommended OELs, which can be viewed as a ref- erence value for preventing adverse health eVects on individual workers. In the case of carcinogens, Reference Values are recommended instead of OELs, corresponding to lifetime excessive risk of 10 ¡3 and 10 ¡4 . The former is based on monitoring of the ambient working environment (area monitoring) while the latter is based on the monitoring of the individual worker. The two OELs inXuence each other in the course of establishment.  2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Japan is currently in the process of recovering from the major economic slowdown that started in the 1990s. It boasts the second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the United States. With a population of 127 million (M), the labor force (66.7 M) by occupation is composed of agriculture 5%, industry 25%, and services 70%. Industry is characterized as among the world’s largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, and processed foods (Cen- tral Intelligence Agency). The wide array of chemicals man- ufactured (for both industrial and consumer use) spans organic/inorganic chemicals, dyes, paints, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, fertilizers, and plastics. Chemical production depends primarily on domestic demand but export (roughly 1.5 times the level of import) has been increasing since the mid 1990s (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2002). The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is the government authority that regulates occupational expo- sures in the working environment. The MHLW, together with its umbrella of prefectural (regional) Labor Bureaus and Labor Standards Inspection OYces, has jurisdiction over the Administrative Control (AC) Level for various exposures, the supervision/oversight of workplaces in implementing exposure measurements and remedial actions when measurement data indicate excessive exposures. The Japan Society for Occupational Health (JSOH) is a non-governmental academic society of occupational health professionals (academicians and practitioners) with a mem- bership of ca. 7500 (Japan Society for Occupational Health; Takahashi, 2000). The Committee for Recommendation of Occupational Exposure Limits of JSOH is a permanent subcommittee within the Society delegated with the said purpose and assessment of carcinogenicity. Hence, in principle, the two authorities are distinct by type (governmental/scientiWc) and purpose (regulation/ * Corresponding author. Fax: +81 93 601 7324. E-mail address: ktaka@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp (K. Takahashi).