Answer:
Except as discussed below, when performing tasks at the typical construction site, exposure to common building materials containing trace amounts of beryllium will normally not trigger the requirements of the beryllium standard. The beryllium standard applies to occupational exposure to beryllium in all forms, compounds, and mixtures in the construction industry. However, the rule exempts from coverage materials containing less than 0.1 percent beryllium by weight where the employer has objective data demonstrating that employee exposure to beryllium will remain below the action level of 0.1 µg/m3, as an 8-hour time weighted average, under any foreseeable conditions. When these circumstances are met, none of the requirements of the standard apply.
OSHA’s analysis of its own sampling data demonstrates that exposures from construction operations involving rock, soil, and concrete are highly unlikely to exceed the action level in typical circumstances. Given the low levels of beryllium in rock, soil, and concrete, airborne dust concentrations would have to be extremely high for exposures to even approach the beryllium action level.[1] The same is true for brick, which may contain beryllium in trace amounts comparable to these materials.[2] Dust concentrations from rock, soil, concrete, or brick would typically exceed the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for total airborne dust (15 mg/m3), or particulates not otherwise classified (PNOC), long before the beryllium action level is reached. In the case of concrete, the level of airborne dust required to reach the beryllium action level would also surpass the PEL for respirable crystalline silica (50 µg/m3) many times over. Thus, the action level for beryllium would only be reached under extremely dusty conditions that would also exceed the PELs for PNOC and respirable crystalline silica.
OSHA considers this data sufficient to demonstrate that exposure to rock, soil, concrete, and brick at the typical construction site will not result in beryllium exposure above the action level under foreseeable conditions. Outside of the materials listed above and certain abrasive blasting media (see FAQ: Who is at risk from exposure to beryllium?), OSHA is not aware of any other building materials at the typical construction site that contain beryllium. However, for any material containing comparable levels of beryllium, an employer may rely on objective data that exposures in its operations are consistently below the PEL for PNOC to demonstrate that exposure from these materials would not exceed the beryllium action level under foreseeable conditions.
However, if an employer has reason to believe that the materials at its particular worksite contain beryllium at levels significantly above average—for example, the employer is performing construction tasks at a beryllium manufacturing facility—or that a particular process produces abnormally high levels of dust such that beryllium exposure might foreseeably reach the action level (as with abrasive blasting), that employer would be required to comply with the applicable provisions of the beryllium standard. In determining whether either of these scenarios applies, a construction employer may rely on objective data provided by an individual qualified by knowledge or experience to assess beryllium exposures at the employer’s worksite.
[1] See Beryllium Air Samples at Construction Sites: An Analysis of OSHA OIS Sample Results 2012-2018, available in the rulemaking docket as Document ID OSHA-H005C-2006-0870-2235. The beryllium content of soil and rock averages less than 2 ppm while the beryllium content of concrete is typically less than 1 ppm. See id. pp. 2, 6.
[2] Some bricks may contain up to 50% fly ash, which in turn may contain beryllium in trace amounts. See Beryllium Final Rule (2017), Final Economic Analysis, Chapter IV, pp. 651-52, available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=OSHA-H005C-2006-0870-2042.
