Portugal Lowers the Legal Limit for Lead in Workers' Blood From 70 to 30 Micrograms, Falling to 15 in 2029, and Caps Diisocyanates for the First Time
A decree published on 22 October lowers the binding limits for lead at work, sets a 4.5 microgram level for women of childbearing age and gives Portugal its first binding limit for diisocyanates. The rules take effect on 2 November; what changes for workers and employers.
Workers exposed to lead in Portugal will have their blood tested against a much lower legal ceiling. Decreto-Lei n.º 203/2026, published in the Diário da República (official journal) on 22 October, sets a binding biological limit of 30 micrograms of lead per 100 ml of blood until 31 December 2028, falling to 15 from 1 January 2029. It also gives Portugal its first binding exposure limit for diisocyanates, chemicals the decree says can cause occupational asthma and skin disease.
The decree transposes Directive (EU) 2024/869, which member states were due to apply by 9 April 2026. It takes effect on the first working day of the month after publication, which is Monday 2 November.
Lead: lower limits in the air and in the blood
The new limit for lead and its inorganic compounds in workplace air is 0.03 mg/m3, averaged over an eight-hour day. When Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2012 was first published, it set 0.15 mg/m3 and a blood limit of 70 micrograms. Lead is now labelled a reproductive toxin "not subject to a threshold". The directive explains that no safe level for the unborn children of exposed women has been identified.
Exposed workers get a health check every year, with blood lead measured by absorption spectrometry or an equivalent method. Checks become six-monthly if lead in the air exceeds 0.015 mg/m3 or a worker's blood level exceeds 9 micrograms, and quarterly once either legal limit is breached.
If a blood test is over the limit, the employer must find the cause and act at once, which can include moving the worker temporarily to a post without exposure. The worker is retested within three months and cannot go back while the result stays above the limit; a move to a lower-exposure post needs the occupational doctor's approval. Health records must be kept for the worker's lifetime and for at least 20 years after death, and never less than 40 years after exposure ends.
There is a transition for lead absorbed before 9 April 2026, since lead lingers in the body. Until the end of 2028, a worker between 30 and 70 micrograms gets quarterly checks and may keep working with lead if the level is falling and the doctor agrees. From 2029 the same applies between 15 and 30.
Women of childbearing age
For women of childbearing age, 4.5 micrograms per 100 ml is set as a level not to be exceeded. Above it, checks become six-monthly and the employer must review protection, taking account of the possible harm to fertility and to the foetus. The directive says the figure is a warning signal, not a sign of harm, and that protecting the foetus must not lead to unfavourable treatment of women at work.
Diisocyanates
The new limit is 6 micrograms of NCO (isocyanate groups) per cubic metre over eight hours, and 12 over any 15 minutes. Until 31 December 2028, a transitional 10 and 20 apply. The directive cites measurement difficulties in sectors such as construction, vehicle repair and the manufacture of furniture, textiles, vehicles, appliances and machinery.
What it means for you
The decree amends Decreto-Lei n.º 301/2000 (carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive toxins) and Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2012 (chemical agents). Breaching the exposure limits, the blood limit rules or the transitional regime is a very serious labour offence; failings in lead health surveillance are serious offences. The Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (ACT, the labour inspectorate) and the Direção-Geral da Saúde (DGS, Directorate-General of Health) enforce the rules. If you work with lead, you are entitled to an extra health examination on request.
