On January 9, 2017 (82 FR 2470), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Labor published a final rule in the federal register amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in 29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to beryllium at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk of material impairment to their health. The evidence in the record for this rulemaking indicates that workers exposed to beryllium are at increased risk of developing chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. This final rule establishes new permissible exposure limits of 0.2 micrograms of beryllium per cubic meter of air (0.2 ug/m3) as an 8-hour time-weighted average and 2.0 ug/m3 as a short-term exposure limit determined over a sampling period of 15 minutes. It also includes other provisions to protect employees, such as requirements for exposure assessment, methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, personal protective clothing and equipment, housekeeping, medical surveillance, housekeeping, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping. OSHA is issuing three separate standards: (1) for general industry, (2) for shipyards and (3) for construction in order to tailor requirements to the circumstances found in these sectors. This final rule becomes effective on March 10, 2017. Click on the link below to download the full version:

OSHA 01-09-2017 FR Beryllium standards