OSHA has issued a final rule, published in the August 9 Federal Register, to extend the compliance date for specific ancillary requirements of the general industry beryllium standard to December 12, 2018.
The extension affects provisions for methods of compliance, beryllium work areas, regulated areas, personal protective clothing and equipment, hygiene facilities and practices, housekeeping, communication of hazards, and recordkeeping. This compliance date extension does not affect the compliance dates for other requirements of the general industry beryllium standard.
OSHA says the extension will maintain essential safety and health protections for workers while the agency prepares a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to clarify certain provisions of the beryllium standard that would maintain the standard’s worker safety and health protections, and address employers’ compliance burdens.
OSHA began enforcing the new permissible exposure limits for general industry, construction, and shipyards, and the general industry provisions for exposure assessment, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, and medical removal on May 11, 2018. Those requirements are unaffected by this rule. Any provisions for which the standard already establishes compliance dates in 2019 (change rooms and showers) or 2020 (engineering controls) are also unaffected by this rule.
The Final Rule is available here.