The United Steelworkers (USW) are praising OSHA for its release last week of the final rule for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in general industry, construction and maritime.
“This has been a long time in the making,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for issuing a proposed rule (PDF) that would bring its Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program in line with current evidence on the dangers of beryllium. According to advocacy group Public Citizen, the DOE’s proposal stands in sharp contrast with the actions of OSHA, which has yet to lower its workplace beryllium limit from an outdated level set in 1971, Public Citizen said.
OSHA has scheduled a public hearing on the agency's proposed rule to amend its existing exposure limits for occupational exposure in general industry to beryllium and beryllium compounds. The hearing will be held Feb. 29, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
OSHA announced on August 6, 2015 a proposed new standard that would lower workplace exposure to beryllium, a heavy metal that can cause lung disease. The proposal would apply to an estimated 35,000 workers covered by OSHA.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Director of Government Affairs Aaron Trippler gives industrial hygienists this update on OSHA standards action. Beryllium: The OSHA draft of this proposed rule to reduce the exposure to beryllium remains at the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – under review.
What is even more frustrating with this delay is the fact that there has been agreement by both the largest domestic player in the beryllium industry and the United Steel Workers Union in agreeing to a proposed exposure limit to beryllium. It remains to be seen if other stakeholders will agree to this compromise exposure limit until the proposal is returned to OSHA and open for public comments.
OSHA’s final rule requiring employers to notify the agency about workplace fatalities and severe injuries will be joined by other federal regulatory activity in 2015, according to Washington observers, who expect a number of regulations to be finalized during the last two years of the Obama administration.
The Office of Management and Budget has published the Spring 2014 unified agenda. The agenda lists regulatory actions now in development and under consideration by each federal agency, providing information about each rule and its stage of development.
Amid speculation that OSHA is on the verge of issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize the beryllium standard, worker safety advocates are hoping that it provides stronger protections for construction workers.
In the OSHA budget justification the agency laid out some of its plans for 2015: Inspections – OSHA announced the agency will conduct more health and safety inspections in 2015, with most of the increase occurring in health inspections. OSHA says the reason for this is that health issues are being identified as increasing.