Could Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) or Occupational Exposure Bands (OEBs) be used to support assessment of products to determine whether they may be highly hazardous?

Yes. Extrapolation of an OEL or OEB (lower end of the range) to a preliminary Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) can be simply done by using the following formula: PDE (µg/day) = OEL (µg/m3) x 10 m3 (the volume air breathed by a worker in 8 hours). Additional adjustment factors may be needed due to potential differences in target population (worker vs patient), route of exposure etc. If the resulting PDE value is 10 µg/day or lower the product should be considered as highly hazardous.