OSHA has issued a final rule on its beryllium standards for construction and shipyards that extends the compliance dates for ancillary provisions to Sept. 30, 2020. This extension accounts for OSHA’s proposal to revise or remove those previsions and maintains enforcement of the lower permissible exposure limits (PEL).

The final rule notes that “revoking all of the ancillary provisions and leaving only the PEL and short-term exposure limits (STEL) would be inconsistent with OSHA’s statutory mandate to protect workers from the demonstrated significant risks of material impairment of health resulting from exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds.”

OSHA says it will issue a proposed rule to amend the beryllium standards for construction and shipyards to more closely align the standards to the general industry standard where appropriate and tailor the mandates to the exposures in construction and shipyards. It will also work to clarify requirements with respect to materials that contain trace amounts of beryllium.

Related Links

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Be Aware of Beryllium: Understanding the Risks to Protect Employees

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Real & Present Danger: The Underestimated Impact of Carcinogens in the Workplace