BCI’s Voluntary Blood Lead Improvement Program: Industry Leadership Through Action

For decades, Battery Council International (BCI) members have operated the world’s most comprehensive voluntary blood lead improvement program, demonstrating unparalleled commitment to worker safety in lead-exposed industries. Beginning with the first industry-sponsored workplace lead-exposure evaluation project in 1938, BCI has continuously evolved its approach, formally establishing voluntary blood lead targets in partnership with U.S. OSHA in 1997, a program that continues to this day with regular updates.
The session will examine the program’s remarkable track record of success detail BCI’s current commitment framework, including the ambitious goal of maintaining all worker blood lead levels at or below 20 μg/dL by 2025, with comprehensive biological monitoring and training protocols. Today, the vast majority of approximately 20,000 lead-tested workers in U.S. battery manufacturing and recycling industries maintain blood lead levels below 10 μg/dL.
The presentation will highlight how BCI’s voluntary approach has consistently exceeded regulatory requirements, demonstrating that industry-led initiatives can achieve superior worker protection outcomes through continuous improvement and shared best practices.

Presenters

Roger Miksad

President & Executive Director, Battery Council International

Roger Miksad is the President and Executive Director of Battery Council International, a trade association formed in 1924 to advance the North American battery industry. He joined BCI in 2020, and today leads BCI’s regulatory and legislative strategy and engagement on all matters, including occupational safety and health, sustainability and environmental issues, government investment, and legislative relations. Mr. Miksad served as BCI’s outside legal counsel from 2009 as a Partner at the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP, where he also represented other chemical and consumer products industries. A graduate of Virginia Tech University, Mr. Miksad holds a Juris Doctor from Washington & Lee University. Mr. Miksad also serves as President of the American Battery Research Group, a subsidiary of BCI that provides pre-competitive research consortium management services.