Workers Comp

OSHA issues final beryllium rule

Angela Childers

August 31, 2020 Reprints

Asbestos & Environmental Construction Regulation Workers Comp Coverage Workplace Safety More + Less -

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a final rule Friday revising the beryllium standards for construction and shipyards. The final rule clarifies the standards to improve compliance, the agency said in a statement.

In the final rule, OSHA will require construction and shipyard employers to establish, implement and maintain written beryllium exposure control plans that include a list of operations and job titles reasonably expected to involve beryllium exposure, engineering controls, work practice, and require respiratory protection, and a list of personal protective clothing and equipment required. Construction standards must also now include procedures to restrict access to work areas where exposure to beryllium could be reasonably expected. OSHA has removed hygiene areas and practices from the final standards on the grounds that those necessary protections are already required by OSHA’s sanitation standards.

The final rule will take effect Sept. 30, 2020, and is expected to affect approximately 12,000 workers employed in 2,800 construction and shipyard industries.