REGAFFAIRS AI
ANSWERS · 4 OCT 2026

What are the occupational exposure limits for formaldehyde in the EU, Germany, the UK and the US (OSHA)? Give the 8-hour and short-term values, the legal source and the date each applies from, with citations.

Formaldehyde (CAS 50-00-0) limits: the EU and Germany have the same values, 0.3 ppm (0.37 mg/m³) over 8 hours and 0.6 ppm (0.74 mg/m³) short-term. Great Britain and US OSHA are much higher. The GB long-term and short-term limits are both 2 ppm (2.5 mg/m³). OSHA's limits are 0.75 ppm over 8 hours and a 2 ppm 15-minute STEL.

Jurisdiction8-h valueShort-term (15 min)Legal sourceApplies from
EU0.3 ppm / 0.37 mg/m³ (binding limit, BOELV) [1][2]0.6 ppm / 0.74 mg/m³ (binding limit) [3][4]Directive 2004/37/EC (Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive), Annex III, as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/983 of 5 June 2019Member States had to transpose by 11 July 2021. Until 11 July 2024, the healthcare, funeral and embalming sectors could apply 0.5 ppm (0.62 mg/m³) instead. Since then the 0.3 ppm value applies to all sectors.
GermanyAGW 0.3 ppm / 0.37 mg/m³ [5]Excursion factor 2 (Category I), which gives 0.6 ppm / 0.74 mg/m³ as a 15-minute average [5][6][7]TRGS 900 (Arbeitsplatzgrenzwerte), set by the AGS (Committee on Hazardous Substances) and published by BAuA. Remarks on the entry: AGS, Sh, Y, X [5]The entry was last changed 02/2015 (February 2015) [5]
Great Britain2 ppm / 2.5 mg/m³ [8]2 ppm / 2.5 mg/m³ [8]HSE EH40/2005, Table 1, used with COSHH 2002 (as amended). The entry is marked "Carc" [8]The current edition of EH40/2005 (4th edition) applies from 17 January 2020. The table does not say when the formaldehyde limit itself was first set.
US (OSHA)0.75 ppm TWA [9]2 ppm STEL [10]29 CFR 1910.1048, the formaldehyde standard. Tables Z-1 and Z-2 under 29 CFR 1910.1000 refer to it and give no value of their own [11][12]. The action level is 0.5 ppm (8-h TWA).The 0.75 ppm TWA has applied since 26 June 1992, when the final rule of 27 May 1992 (57 FR 22290) lowered it from 1 ppm.

Points that affect how you use these values:

  • EU short-term value: the EUR-Lex results I checked confirm the 8-hour value and the transitional value. The 15-minute value of 0.6 ppm / 0.74 mg/m³ comes from the IFA GESTIS international limit-value database, which lists it as binding. The Directive text I checked did not show it.
  • Germany: TRGS 900 sets the short-term level as the AGW multiplied by the excursion factor of 2. GESTIS lists the same 0.6 ppm / 0.74 mg/m³ for the AGS. The DFG MAK commission's recommended values are separate and not legally binding. They add a ceiling of 1 ppm (1.2 mg/m³) [13].
  • Great Britain: the EH40 limit is still 2 ppm, more than six times the EU value. The latest EH40 edition took in the revisions from Directive (EU) 2017/2398, but its formaldehyde entry does not reflect the 2019/983 value.
  • US, other limits: California (Cal/OSHA, Section 5217) sets 0.75 ppm with a 2 ppm short-term limit. NIOSH recommends 0.016 ppm and a 0.1 ppm 15-minute ceiling, but this is advisory, not law [14].

Approach: I used the BAuA TRGS 900 list, HSE EH40/2005 Table 1, OSHA's Table Z-1 and Annotated PEL tables, and the IFA GESTIS international limit values. Dates and legal texts came from official EUR-Lex, OSHA/eCFR and HSE pages; those come from search snippets, not full pages.

Sources:

SOURCES · 14

  1. [1]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  2. [2]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  3. [3]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  4. [4]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  5. [5]Formaldehyd · p.31BAuA/AGS
  6. [6]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  7. [7]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  8. [8]FormaldehydeHSE
  9. [9]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  10. [10]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  11. [11]Formaldehyde; see 1910.1048 · p.1OSHA
  12. [12]Formaldehyde See 1910.1048 · p.1OSHA
  13. [13]Formaldehyde · p.1IFA/DGUV
  14. [14]Formaldehyde; see 1910.1048 · p.1OSHA
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