The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed changes to its current beryllium standards in the shipyard and construction industries, the agency announced this week.
The proposed changes will ensure consistency with general industry standards based on the agency’s July 2017 final rule clarifying requirements for materials containing trace amounts of beryllium, according to an OSHA news release.
The proposal would revise definitions, compliance methods, personal protective clothing and equipment and respiratory protection, and also make modifications to employers’ hygiene areas and practice, housekeeping, medical surveillance, hazard communications and recordkeeping, said the agency. Permissible beryllium exposure limits will remain unchanged at 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air of personal exposure during an eight-hour period.
A hearing on the proposed changes is set for Dec. 3, 2019.
This article was first published by Business Insurance.
