OSHA to Hold Hearing on Proposed Beryllium Exposure Rule

Responding to a request by the Non-Ferrous Founders' Society, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold what it's calling an "informal public hearing" on its proposed beryllium exposure rule on Monday, Feb 29. The public comment period on the August 2015 proposed rule closed this past Nov. 5, but not before the society made its request for a public hearing. Beryllium, used principally in aerospace and the defense industries, poses a respiratory hazard to those exposed to it, and the rule aims to set safer exposure limits. OSHA estimates the rule, once in effect, will prevent 96 premature deaths each year and also prevent 50 new cases of chronic beryllium disease annually. The all-day public hearing will be held at the Frances Perkins Building, which houses the Department of Labor (DOL), in Washington, D.C. If necessary, OSHA says it will carry over the meeting to subsequent days.