§ 5205. Beryllium.
8 CA ADC § 5205Barclays Official California Code of Regulations
8 CCR § 5205
§ 5205. Beryllium.
Action level means a concentration of airborne beryllium of 0.1 micrograms per cubic meter of air (μg/m3) calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA).
Airborne exposure and airborne exposure to beryllium mean the exposure to airborne beryllium that would occur if the employee were not using a respirator.
Beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) means the measurement of blood lymphocyte proliferation in a laboratory test when lymphocytes are challenged with a soluble beryllium salt.
Beryllium work area means any work area containing a process or operation that can release beryllium where employees are, or can reasonably be expected to be, exposed to airborne beryllium at any level or where there is the potential for dermal contact with beryllium.
CBD diagnostic center means a medical diagnostic center that has an on-site pulmonary specialist and on-site facilities to perform a clinical evaluation for the presence of chronic beryllium disease (CBD). This evaluation must include pulmonary function testing (as outlined by the American Thoracic Society criteria), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and transbronchial biopsy. The CBD diagnostic center must also have the capacity to transfer BAL samples to a laboratory for appropriate diagnostic testing within 24 hours. The on-site pulmonary specialist must be able to interpret the biopsy pathology and the BAL diagnostic test results.
Chief means the Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or designee.
Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) means a chronic lung disease associated with airborne exposure to beryllium.
Confirmed positive means the person tested has beryllium sensitization, as indicated by two abnormal BeLPT test results, an abnormal and a borderline test result, or three borderline test results. It also means the result of a more reliable and accurate test indicating a person has been identified as having beryllium sensitization.
Director means the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or designee.
Emergency means any uncontrolled release of airborne beryllium.
High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter means a filter that is at least 99.97 percent efficient in removing particles 0.3 micrometers in diameter.
Objective data means information, such as air monitoring data from industry-wide surveys or calculations based on the composition of a substance, demonstrating airborne exposure to beryllium associated with a particular product or material or a specific process, task, or activity. The data must reflect workplace conditions closely resembling or with a higher airborne exposure potential than the processes, types of material, control methods, work practices, and environmental conditions in the employer's current operations.
Physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) means an individual whose legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification) allows the individual to independently provide or be delegated the responsibility to provide some or all of the health care services required by subsection (k).
Regulated area means an area, including temporary work areas where maintenance or non-routine tasks are performed, where an employee's airborne exposure exceeds, or can reasonably be expected to exceed, either the time-weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) or short term exposure limit (STEL).
This standard means this beryllium standard, Section 5205.
(C) Where several employees perform the same tasks on the same shift and in the same work area, the employer may sample a representative fraction of these employees in order to meet the requirements of this subsection (d)(3). In representative sampling, the employer must sample the employee(s) expected to have the highest airborne exposure to beryllium.
(G) Where the most recent (non-initial) exposure monitoring indicates that airborne exposure is below the action level, the employer must repeat such monitoring within six months of the most recent monitoring until two consecutive measurements, taken 7 or more days apart, are below the action level, at which time the employer may discontinue 8-hour TWA exposure monitoring for those employees whose exposure is represented by such monitoring, except as otherwise provided in subsection (d)(4).
(H) Where the most recent exposure monitoring indicates that airborne exposure is above the STEL, the employer must repeat such monitoring within three months of the most recent short-term exposure monitoring until two consecutive measurements, taken 7 or more days apart, are below the STEL, at which time the employer may discontinue short-term exposure monitoring for those employees whose exposure is represented by such monitoring, except as otherwise provided in subsection (d)(4).
(4) Reassessment of exposure. The employer must reassess airborne exposure whenever a change in the production, process, control equipment, personnel, or work practices may reasonably be expected to result in new or additional airborne exposure at or above the action level or STEL, or when the employer has any reason to believe that new or additional airborne exposure at or above the action level or STEL has occurred.
(5) Methods of sample analysis. The employer must ensure that all air monitoring samples used to satisfy the monitoring requirements of subsection (d) are evaluated by a laboratory that can measure beryllium to an accuracy of plus or minus 25 percent within a statistical confidence level of 95 percent for airborne concentrations at or above the action level.
(A) Within 15 working days after completing an exposure assessment in accordance with subsection (d), the employer must notify each employee whose airborne exposure is represented by the assessment of the results of that assessment individually in writing or post the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to each of these employees.
(B) Whenever an exposure assessment indicates that airborne exposure is above the TWA PEL or STEL, the employer must describe in the written notification the corrective action being taken to reduce airborne exposure to or below the exposure limit(s) exceeded where feasible corrective action exists but had not been implemented when the monitoring was conducted.
(B) When observation of monitoring requires entry into an area where the use of personal protective clothing or equipment (which may include respirators) is required, the employer must provide each observer with appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment at no cost to the observer and must ensure that each observer uses such clothing and equipment.
(D) Wherever the employer demonstrates that it is not feasible to reduce airborne exposure to or below the PELs by the engineering and work practice controls required by subsections (f)(2)(A) and (f)(2)(C), the employer must implement and maintain engineering and work practice controls to reduce airborne exposure to the lowest levels feasible and supplement these controls by using respiratory protection in accordance with subsection (g).
(A) The employer must ensure that each employee removes all beryllium-contaminated personal protective clothing and equipment at the end of the work shift, at the completion of tasks involving beryllium, or when personal protective clothing or equipment becomes visibly contaminated with beryllium, whichever comes first.
(D) The employer must ensure that no employee removes beryllium-contaminated personal protective clothing or equipment from the workplace, except for employees authorized to do so for the purposes of laundering, cleaning, maintaining or disposing of beryllium-contaminated personal protective clothing and equipment at an appropriate location or facility away from the workplace.
(E) When personal protective clothing or equipment required by this standard is removed from the workplace for laundering, cleaning, maintenance or disposal, the employer must ensure that personal protective clothing and equipment are stored and transported in sealed bags or other closed containers that are impermeable and are labeled in accordance with subsection (m)(3) and Section 5194 (HCS).
(C) The employer must inform in writing the persons or the business entities who launder, clean or repair the personal protective clothing or equipment required by this standard of the potentially harmful effects of airborne exposure to and dermal contact with beryllium and that the personal protective clothing and equipment must be handled in accordance with this standard.
(2) Change rooms. In addition to the requirements of subsection (i)(1)(A), the employer must provide employees who work in a beryllium work area with a designated change room in accordance with this standard and Section 3367 (Change Rooms) where employees are required to remove their personal clothing.
(B) Materials designated for recycling that contain or are contaminated with beryllium are cleaned to be as free as practicable of surface beryllium contamination and labeled in accordance with subsection (m)(3), or placed in sealed, impermeable enclosures, such as bags or containers, that are labeled in accordance with subsection (m)(3).
5. A standardized BeLPT or equivalent test, upon the first examination and at least every two years thereafter, unless the employee is confirmed positive. If the results of the BeLPT are other than normal, a follow-up BeLPT must be offered within 30 days, unless the employee has been confirmed positive. Samples must be analyzed in a laboratory certified under the College of American Pathologists/Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) guidelines to perform the BeLPT.
(5) Licensed physician's written medical report for the employee. The employer must ensure that the employee receives a written medical report from the licensed physician within 45 days of the examination (including any follow-up BeLPT required under subsection (k)(3)(B)5.) and that the PLHCP explains the results of the examination to the employee. The written medical report must contain:
4. A statement that the PLHCP has explained the results of the medical examination to the employee, including any tests conducted, any medical conditions related to airborne exposure that require further evaluation or treatment, and any special provisions for use of personal protective clothing or equipment;
(B) The employer must ensure that the employee receives a written medical report from the CBD diagnostic center that contains all the information required in subsection (k)(5)(A), (B), (D), and (E) and that the PLHCP explains the results of the examination to the employee within 30 days of the examination.
(C) The employer must obtain a written medical opinion from the CBD diagnostic center within 30 days of the medical examination. The written medical opinion must contain only the information in subsection (k)(6)(A), as applicable, unless the employee provides written authorization to release additional information. If the employee provides written authorization, the written opinion must also contain the information from subsections (k)(6)(B), (D), and (E), if applicable.
(E) After an employee has received the initial clinical evaluation at a CBD diagnostic center described in subsection (k)(7)(A), the employee may choose to have any subsequent medical examinations for which the employee is eligible under subsection (k) performed at a CBD diagnostic center mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee, and the employer must provide such examinations at no cost to the employee.
(A) If a comparable job is available where airborne exposures to beryllium are below the action level, and the employee is qualified for that job or can be trained within one month, the employer must remove the employee to that job. The employer must maintain for six months from the time of removal the employee's base earnings, seniority, and other rights and benefits that existed at the time of removal.
(B) If comparable work is not available, the employer must maintain the employee's base earnings, seniority, and other rights and benefits that existed at the time of removal for six months or until such time that comparable work described in subsection (l)(3)(A) becomes available, whichever comes first.
(4) The employer's obligation to provide medical removal protection benefits to a removed employee shall be reduced to the extent that the employee receives compensation for earnings lost during the period of removal from a publicly or employer-funded compensation program, or receives income from another employer made possible by virtue of the employee's removal.
(C) Employers must include beryllium in the hazard communication program established to comply with the HCS. Employers must ensure that each employee has access to labels on containers of beryllium and to safety data sheets, and is trained in accordance with the requirements of Section 5194 (HCS) and subsection (m)(4).
DANGER
CONTAINS BERYLLIUM
MAY CAUSE CANCER
CAUSES DAMAGE TO LUNGS
AVOID CREATING DUST
DO NOT GET ON SKIN(C) When a workplace change (such as modification of equipment, tasks, or procedures) results in new or increased airborne exposure that exceeds, or can reasonably be expected to exceed, either the TWA PEL or the STEL, the employer must provide additional training to those employees affected by the change in airborne exposure.
(5) Access to records. Upon request, the employer must make all records maintained as a requirement of this standard available for examination and copying to the Chief, the Director, each employee, and each employee's designated representative(s) in accordance with Section 3204 (Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records).
Appendix A to § 5205
Control Strategies To Minimize Beryllium Exposure
(Non-Mandatory)Subsection (f)(2)(A) requires employers to use one or more of the control methods listed in subsection (f)(2)(A) to minimize worker exposure in each operation in a beryllium work area, unless the operation is exempt under subsection (f)(2)(B). This appendix sets forth a non-exhaustive list of control options that employers could use to comply with subsection (f)(2)(A) for a number of specific beryllium operations.
TABLE A. -- EXPOSURE CONTROL RECOMMENDATIONS
Operation | Minimal control strategy | Application group |
Beryllium Oxide Forming (e.g., | For pressing operations: | Primary Beryllium |
pressing, extruding). | (1) Install local exhaust ventilation (LEV) on oxide press tables, oxide feed drum breaks, press tumblers, powder rollers, and die set disassembly stations; and | Production Beryllium Oxide Ceramics and Composites. | |
(2) Enclose the oxide presses; | |||
(3) Install mechanical ventilation (make-up air) in processing areas. |
For extruding operations: |
(1) Install LEV on extruder powder loading hoods, oxide supply bottles, rod breaking operations, centerless grinders, rod laydown tables, dicing operations, surface grinders, discharge end of extrusion presses; | |||
(2) Enclose the centerless grinders; and | |||
(3) Install mechanical ventilation (make-up air) in processing areas. | |||
Chemical Processing Operations (e.g., | For medium and high gassing operations: | Primary Beryllium |
leaching, pickling, degreasing, etching, | (1) Perform operation with a hood having a maximum of one open side; and | Production; Beryllium | |
plating). | (2) Design process so as to minimize spills; if accidental spills occur, perform immediate cleanup. | Oxide Ceramics and Composites; Copper Rolling, Drawing and Extruding. | |
Finishing (e.g., grinding, sanding, polishing, deburring). | (1) Perform portable finishing operations in a ventilated hood. The hood should include both downdraft and backdraft ventilation, and have at least two sides and a top | Secondary Smelting; Fabrication of Beryllium Alloy Products; Dental Labs. |
(2) Perform stationary finishing operations using a ventilated and enclosed hood at the point of operation. The grinding wheel of the stationary unit should be enclosed and ventilated. | ||
Furnace Operations (e.g., Melting and Casting). | (1) Use LEV on furnaces, pelletizer; arc furnace ingot machine discharge; pellet sampling; arc furnace bins and conveyors; beryllium hydroxide drum dumper and dryer; furnace rebuilding; furnace tool holders; arc furnace tundish and tundish skimming, tundish preheat hood, and tundish cleaning hoods; dross handling equipment and drums; dross recycling; and tool repair station, charge make-up station, oxide screener, product sampling locations, drum changing stations, and drum cleaning stations. | Primary Beryllium Production; Beryllium Oxide Ceramics and Composites; Nonferrous Foundries; Secondary Smelting. |
(2) Use mechanical ventilation (make-up air) in furnace building. | ||
Machining | Use (1) LEV consistent with ACGIH® ventilation guidelines on deburring hoods, wet surface grinder enclosures, belt sanding hoods, and electrical discharge machines (for operations such as polishing, lapping, and buffing); | Primary Beryllium Production; Beryllium Oxide Ceramics and |
(2) high velocity low volume hoods or ventilated enclosures on lathes, vertical mills, CNC mills, and tool grinding operations; | Composites; Copper Rolling, Drawing, and | |
(3) for beryllium oxide ceramics, LEV on lapping, dicing, and laser cutting; and | Extruding; Precision Turned | |
(4) wet methods (e.g., coolants). | Products. | |
Mechanical Processing (e.g., material | (1) Enclose and ventilate sources of emission; | Primary Beryllium |
handling (including scrap), sorting, | (2) Prohibit open handling of materials; and | Production; Beryllium |
crushing, screening, pulverizing, shredding, pouring, mixing, blending. | (3) Use mechanical ventilation (make-up air) in processing areas. | Oxide Ceramics and Composites; Aluminum and Copper Foundries; Secondary Smelting. |
Metal Forming (e.g., rolling, drawing, straightening, annealing, extruding) | (1) For rolling operations, install LEV on mill stands and reels such that a hood extends the length of the mill; | Primary Beryllium Production; Copper Rolling, |
(2) For point and chamfer operations, install LEV hoods at both ends of the rod; | Drawing, and Extruding; | |
(3) For annealing operations, provide an inert atmosphere for annealing furnaces, and LEV hoods at entry and exit points; | Fabrication of Beryllium Alloy Products. | |
(4) For swaging operations, install LEV on the cutting head | ||
(5) For drawing, straightening, and extruding operations, install LEV at entry and exit points; and | ||
(6) For all metal forming operations, install mechanical ventilation (make-up air) for processing areas | ||
Welding | For fixed welding operations: | Primary Beryllium |
(1) Enclose work locations around the source of fume generation and use local exhaust ventilation; and | Production; Fabrication of Beryllium Alloy Products; | ||
(2) Install close capture hood enclosure designed so as to minimize fume emission from the enclosure welding operation. | Welding |
For manual operations: |
(1) Use portable local exhaust and general ventilation |
Credits
Note: Authority cited: Sections 142.3, 9020, 9030 and 9040, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 142.3, 9004(d), 9009, 9020, 9031 and 9040, Labor Code.
History
1. New section filed 10-2-2017; operative 10-2-2017 pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3. Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Labor Code section 142.3(a)(4) (Register 2017, No. 40). For prior history, see Register 87, No. 51.
This database is current through 6/21/24 Register 2024, No. 25.
Cal. Admin. Code tit. 8, § 5205, 8 CA ADC § 5205
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