A new rule issued by OSHA lowers the allowed levels of a chemical that can cause devastating lung diseases.
The final beryllium rule reduces the eight-hour permissible exposure limit from the previous 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) to 0.2 µg/m³. The rule also establishes a short-term exposure limit of 2.0 µg/m³ over a 15-minute sampling period. The previous exposure limit goes back 40 years.
OSHA has issued three separate sets of rules for general industry, construction and shipyards.