• Home
• Workers
• Regulations
• Enforcement
• Data & Statistics
• Training
• Publications
• Newsroom
• Small Business

2096. OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO BERYLLIUM

Priority: Economically Significant. Major under 5 USC 801.

Unfunded Mandates: Undetermined

Legal Authority: 29 USC 655(b); 29 USC 657

CFR Citation: 29 CFR 1910

Legal Deadline: None

Abstract: OSHA intends to issue a Request for Information and to undertake and support extensive research to elucidate the mechanisms of disease underlying Chronic Beryllium Disease or beryllium sensitization and to identify the best ways of reducing employee exposure to beryllium. OSHA will also be identifying processes, industries, and kind of businesses that involve the use of beryllium. This information is necessary if OSHA is to develop a rule to reduce worker exposure to dust or fumes from beryllium metal, metal oxides, or alloys, all of which may cause serious and sometimes fatal lung disease (chronic beryllium disease (CBD), lung cancer, and skin disease). In 1999, OSHA was petitioned to issue an emergency temporary standard by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers Union (PACE) and others. The Agency denied this petition but stated its intent to work on a standard to be issued under section 6(b)(5) of the Act to protect workers from beryllium-related disease. Before OSHA can do so, however, it needs a substantial amount of information on beryllium's toxicity, risks, and patterns of use. The Request for Information will be designed to obtain this information.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Undetermined

Government Levels Affected: Undetermined

Agency Contact: Marthe B. Kent, Acting Director, Directorate of Health Standards Programs, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N3718, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, FP Building, Washington, DC 20210
Phone: 202 693-1950
Fax: 202 693-1678

RIN: 1218-AB76