OSHA has issued two final rules revising the beryllium standards for general industry (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1024), construction (29 C.F.R. § 1926.1124), and shipyards (29 C.F.R. § 1915.1024). On July 14, 2020, OSHA published a final rule revising the beryllium standard for general industry to clarify certain provisions and to simplify or improve compliance. The final rule is designed to maintain or enhance worker protection by insuring that the standard is well understood and compliance is more straightforward.
On August 31, 2020, OSHA published a separate final rule revising the beryllium standards for the construction and shipyard industries. The changes in that rule will more appropriately tailor the requirements of the construction and shipyard standards to the particular exposures in these industries (i.e., exposures to materials containing only trace amounts of beryllium) and will avoid inconsistency, where appropriate, between the construction and shipyard standards and the general industry standard.
The final rule for construction and shipyards amends the following paragraphs in the beryllium standards for construction and shipyards: "Definitions," "Methods of Compliance," "Respiratory Protection," "Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment," "Housekeeping," "Hazard Communication," "Medical Surveillance," and "Recordkeeping." In addition, the "Hygiene Areas and Practices" paragraph has been removed from both standards.
About 62,000 workers are exposed to beryllium in their workplaces, including approximately 50,500 workers employed in general industry and approximately 11,500 construction and shipyard workers who may conduct abrasive blasting operations using slags that contain trace amounts of beryllium.
More on Beryllium :
What You Need to Know About Beryllium in Abrasive Blasting
Source: United States Department of Labor: https://www.osha.gov/beryllium/rulemaking