1218-AD20 201910 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1218 Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA 1200 Department of Labor DOL Exposure to Beryllium to Review General Industry Provisions

On January 9, 2017, OSHA published its final rule Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds in the Federal Register (82 FR 2470). OSHA concluded that employees exposed to beryllium and beryllium compounds at the preceding permissible exposure limits (PELs) were at significant risk of material impairment of health, specifically chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. OSHA also concluded that the new 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) PEL of 0.2 µg/m3 reduced this significant risk to the maximum extent feasible. 

In response to the stakeholder feedback, and to resolve pending litigation, OSHA promulgated a direct final rule to clarify aspects of the general industry standard in May 2018 and proposed additional revisions to certain provisions in the standard in December 2018. The revisions OSHA proposed are generally designed to clarify the standard in response to stakeholder questions or to simplify compliance, while in all cases maintaining a high degree of protection from the adverse health effects of beryllium exposure.  The agency is currently reviewing comments received in response to the proposal to finalize the rulemaking.

]]> Other Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Final Rule Stage No No Deregulatory 29 CFR 1910.1024 29 U.S.C. 655(b) Yes

OSHA published a proposal that would amend the Beryllium standard from general industry to clarify certain provisions with proposed changes designed to facilitate application of the standard consistent with the intent of the 2017 final rule - and simplify or improve compliance, preventing costs that may flow from misinterpretation or misapplication of the standard.  OSHA believes that the standard as modified by this proposal would provide equivalent protection to the current standard.

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29 U.S.C. 655(b); 29 U.S.C. 657

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The alternative for the proposed changes contained in the NPRM is to retain the existing regulatory language.  OSHA has requested public comment on feasible alternatives to the Agency's proposal.

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OSHA anticipates that none of the changes in this proposal would impose any new employer obligations or increases the overall cost of compliance, while some of the changes in this proposal would clarify and simplify compliance in such a way that results in cost savings.  Therefore, OSHA has preliminarily determined that proposed revisions to the standard would not remove or change the general nature of any ancillary provisions.  The agency expects the proposed revisions to maintain safety and health protections for workers and facilitate employer understanding and compliance.  OSHA preliminarily determines that these proposed changes would increase the net benefits of the standard for enhancing compliance with the standard and would prevent unnecessary costs being incurred due to misunderstanding of the standard.

]]> ]]> Direct Final Rule 05/07/2018 83 FR 19926 NPRM 05/07/2018 83 FR 19989 NPRM Comment Period End 06/06/2018 Withdrawal of NPRM (Published under 1218-AB76) 07/03/2018 83 FR 31086 Direct Final Rule Effective (Published under 1218-AB76) 07/06/2018 83 FR 31045 NPRM 12/11/2018 83 FR 63746 NPRM Comment Period End 02/11/2019 Final Rule 12/00/2019 No Businesses None No No No No 1218-AB76 Related to William Perry Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance 1218 Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA 202 693-1950 202 693-1678 perry.bill@dol.gov 200 Constitution Avenue NW., FP Building, Room N-3718, Washington DC 20210