Compliance · US OSHA 1910.1028
OSHA Benzene Standard (29 CFR 1910.1028)
Occupational: benzene (USA)
OSHA's benzene standard, 29 CFR 1910.1028, sets the legal exposure limits for benzene: a permissible exposure limit of 1 ppm as an 8-hour time-weighted average, a short-term exposure limit of 5 ppm over any 15-minute period, and an action level of 0.5 ppm (8-hour TWA) that triggers periodic monitoring and medical surveillance. Benzene is a human carcinogen that causes leukemia, so the standard adds regulated areas, engineering controls, respirators, and medical surveillance to the limits.
Limit values
OSHA benzene Limit Values
Every value US OSHA 1910.1028 publishes for the parameter below, with its averaging period, as the standard states it.
Who it applies to
Who Must Comply
Employers where workers handle benzene or products containing it: petroleum refining, petrochemical and chemical manufacturing, bulk terminals and fuel distribution, tire and rubber manufacturing, and laboratories. Construction work falls under 29 CFR 1926.1128, which refers to the same requirements.
Monitoring
How Monitoring Demonstrates Compliance
Compliance rests on exposure monitoring representative of each employee's 8-hour and 15-minute exposure, repeated periodically at or above the action level; speciated benzene is measured by laboratory analysis of personal samples or by gas chromatography. Continuous area monitoring for total VOCs gives early warning of a release, and a speciated analyzer shows whether the rise is benzene. NIOSH recommends 0.1 ppm, ten times lower than the PEL.
Recommended
best match-
Thiamis connects 1 instrument
A gateway that connects the third-party instruments you choose to the Aethair Platform.
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Defiant Technologies Specialty Air Analyzers
BTEX / speciated VOCDefiant Technologies FROG portable gas chromatograph (GC-PID).
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Who measures each parameter
| Parameter |  Aethair PRO |  Aethair IAQ | External |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTEX / speciated VOC | — | — | 1 instrument via Thiamis |
Devices
Devices That Cover OSHA benzene
How much of this standard one Aethair monitor covers, followed by the third-party instruments in the sensor catalog that measure its parameters. Each connects to Environet through a Thiamis gateway, which adds whatever the monitor leaves out.
Covers it on its own
Solutions
Solutions Judged Against OSHA benzene
Oil & Gas / Petrochemical
Fence-line VOC, H₂S, and methane leak detection
Article Library
Articles on OSHA benzene
OSHA Air Quality Standards 2026: PELs & 29 CFR 1910.1000
OSHA air quality standards for indoor and outdoor work: permissible exposure limits, Table Z-1, 29 CFR 1910.1000, and the heat and wildfire smoke triggers.
Questions
OSHA benzene FAQ
What is the OSHA PEL for benzene?
1 ppm as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with a short-term exposure limit of 5 ppm over any 15-minute period and an action level of 0.5 ppm.
Can a total VOC sensor measure benzene?
Not selectively. A total VOC reading shows that organic vapors rose; benzene itself needs a speciated measurement, such as gas chromatography or laboratory analysis of a sample.
What does NIOSH recommend for benzene?
A recommended exposure limit of 0.1 ppm as a time-weighted average and 1 ppm as a short-term limit, stricter than OSHA's.
Monitor Against OSHA benzene
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