Occupational Alliance for Risk Science
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The OARS website has been updated and moved. Please click the following link to be redirected the New OARS Website View NEW OARS WEBSITE. Please bookmark the new website for future reference.
This OARS webpage will not be updated in the future and should be used only for historical purpses only.
The Occupational Alliance for Risk Science (OARS) is an initiative to facilitate sharing of information with workers and occupational health and safety professionals. OARS provides a forum for information exchange about exposure guidance for chemical stressors, methods for improving occupational risk assessments, and training opportunities. The OARS serves as the home of exposure guide values, and related guideline documents, for chemical stressors. These guide values and supporting documentation related to worker and community exposure levels for chemical and physical agents and stressors are published by the OARS. OARS is managed by Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA)
NEWS
- The WEEL committee will hold their Spring meeting at the Royal Saint Charles Hotel in New Orleans on March 17 and 18, 2016 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please contact oarsweel@ucmail.uc.edu if you are interested in the meeting.
- Reaffirmed WEEL documentation. The WEEL value and documentation for Butyraldehyde has been reaffirmed and is now available.
- Revised WEEL documentation. The WEEL committee has revised and reaffirmed the WEEL values for Melamine. The revised documents are posted here for a 45-day public comment period. Please submit comments to Ann Parker at ann.parker@uc.edu or fax to 513-558-7199 by March 28, 2016.
- Reaffirmed WEEL documentation. The WEEL value and documentation for 2-Chloropropane has been reaffirmed and is now available.
- Revised WEEL documentation. The WEEL committee has revised and reaffirmed the WEEL values for Chlorosulfonic acid, p-Hydroxybenzoic acid and Sodium Chloroacetate. The revised documents are posted here for a 45-day public comment period. Please submit comments to Ann Parker at ann.parker@uc.edu or fax to 513-558-7199 by March 21, 2016.
- Revised WEEL documentation. The WEEL committee has reviewed and reaffirmed the WEEL values for Diisobutylene, Diethylene Glycol (DEG), Tetrachloropyridine, and Trifluoroethanol. The revised documents are posted here for a 45-day public comment period. Please submit comments to Ann Parker at ann.parker@uc.edu or fax to 513-558-7199 by March 10, 2016.
- New OARS WEEL for Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) is now available. The OARS-WEEL for D5 has been posted.
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Revised WEEL documentation for Butyraldehyde and 2-Chloropropane. Public comment period is closed. Final WEEL will be available soon.
- New OARS WEEL for Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) is now available. The OARS-WEEL for D4 has been posted.
- New OARS WEEL for 3-Nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-One (NTO) is now available. The OARS-WEEL for NTO has been posted.
- New OARS WEEL for cis-1,1,1,4,4,4-Hexafluoro-2-butene (HFO-1336mzz-Z) is now available. The OARS-WEEL for HFO-1336mzz-Z has been posted.
- NEW OARS-WEEL for 2,4-Dinitroanisole (DNAN) now available. The OARS-WEEL for DNAN has been posted.
- New OARS WEEL for Menthol is now available. The OARS-WEEL for Menthol has been posted.
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First OARS WEEL for HCFO-1233zd(E) available. The OARS-WEEL for trans-1-Chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropylene (HCFO-1233zd(E)) has been posted.
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WEEL™ Values now on-line! The Occupational Alliance for Risk Science - Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEEL)™ are now available on-line from the OARS website, click here. An official press release was distributed on July 24, 2013.
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New Occupational Risk Assessment Course now available! TERA has developed an occupational risk assessment course on the development of occupational exposure limits (OELs). The course is a 4-day hand-on course offered thru OARS. Click here for more information.
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Alan Weinrich Scholarship for Studies in Occupational Health. Donations to the Alan Weinrich Scholarship for Studies in Occupational Health are now being accepted. For more information on how to donate to the scholarship fund, click here
Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEELs)™ are health-based guide values for chemical stressors. The WEELs provide air concentrations intended to protect most workers from adverse health effects related to occupational chemical exposures.
Click here for the WEEL's table of values.
Occupational Alliance for Risk Science Sponsorship
There are two types of sponsorship.
OARS Sponsorship: Grants intended to support the development and implementation of the Alliance mission.
WEEL Sponsorship: Grants to support the development of a WEEL for a specific chemical stressor.
OARS Briefing Package (pdf)
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for OARS, please contact Ms. Ann Parker at ann.parker@uc.edu or 513-558-1053
Click on image for a larger image (pdf).
OARS Mission
OARS is a collaborative initiative with the goal of promoting worker health protection through increased access to high quality occupational exposure limits, enhancements in methods for establishing worker-health exposure guidelines, and education and training in occupational risk assessment methods.
OARS Guiding Principles
A purpose of OARS is to prioritize and recommend Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEELs)™ by:
Communicating the basis for selection of candidate agents.
Harmonizing methods to obtain and analyze relevant data.
Defining a transparent process for development, approval and communication of
values.
Sharing resources effectively among organizations.
Presentations & Resources
The members of the OARS AAB make many presentations on various occupational and industrial hygiene topics. Click here to visit the webpage listing of these presentations.
OARS also has compiled a Resources Guide for OEL websites, methodologies and references. Click here for the Resource Guide (pdf).
Alliance Advisory Board
WEEL Committee
For any questions about OARS, please contact Ms. Ann Parker at ann.parker@uc.edu or 513-558-1053