December 2, 2002—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is asking for comments and information from the public to help the agency determine the best way to address occupational exposures to beryllium.
Beryllium is a lightweight metal found in coal, oil, certain rock minerals, volcanic dust, and soil. It is used by the aerospace, nuclear, and manufacturing industries, and is found in dental appliances, golf clubs, non-sparking tools, and various electronic applications. The metal is also toxic and can cause lung cancer and skin disease.
OSHA’s current general industry standard sets a permissible exposure limit for beryllium at two micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour time-weighted average, or five micrograms per cubic meter of air not to exceed 30 minutes at a time. OSHA says employees should never be exposed to more than 25 micrograms of the metal, regardless of how short the exposure.
“We know there’s an association between adverse health effects and exposure to this metal,” said OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. “We’ve published two hazard information bulletins on the topic just in the past three years. To determine the best future course of action to take, we need to obtain as much information as we can on the many complex issues related to health effects, current uses, and employee exposures to this metal. The best way to do that is to provide interested members of the public an opportunity to be heard on these issues.”
OSHA’s request for information covers numerous topics including employee exposure, health effects, risk assessment, exposure assessment and monitoring methods, control measures and technological feasibility, economic impacts, employee training, medical surveillance, and environmental and small business impacts.
Comments must be submitted by February 24, 2003. To submit comments by regular mail, send three copies and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. H005C, Room N2625, US Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20210. Comments may also be faxed (10 pages or fewer) to OSHA’s Docket Office at 202/693-1648. Include docket number in comments. Finally, comments may be submitted electronically at http://ecomments.osha.gov. Further information on submitting comments can be obtained by calling the Docket Office at 202/693-2350.
