Glossary
Negative Exposure Assessment
Also: NEA
A documented demonstration under OSHA 1926.1101 that exposure during a specific operation will stay below the PEL, relieving the employer of certain monitoring and control requirements.
A negative exposure assessment (NEA) is the employer’s documented demonstration that a specific asbestos operation will reliably keep employee exposure below the permissible exposure limit.
OSHA 1926.1101 allows an NEA to be based on objective data about the material and method, or on prior monitoring of work performed under closely similar conditions by the same employer. A valid NEA can relieve the contractor of some of the periodic monitoring and control obligations that would otherwise apply.
The assessment is operation-specific and conditional: change the material, the method, or the crew’s controls, and the prior NEA no longer applies.