[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31045-31046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14274]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. OSHA-2018-0003]
RIN 1218-AB76


Revising the Beryllium Standard for General Industry

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Final rule; confirmation of effective date.

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SUMMARY: OSHA is confirming the effective date of its direct final rule 
(DFR) adopting a number of clarifying amendments to the beryllium 
standard for general industry to address the application of the 
standard to materials containing trace amounts of beryllium. In the May 
7, 2018, DFR, OSHA stated that the DFR would become effective on July 
6, 2018, unless one or more significant adverse comments were submitted 
by June 6, 2018. OSHA did not receive significant adverse comments on 
the DFR, so by this document the agency is confirming that the DFR will 
become effective on July 6, 2018.

DATES: The DFR published on May 7, 2018 (83 FR 19936), becomes 
effective on July 6, 2018. For purposes of judicial review, OSHA 
considers the date of publication of this document as the date of 
promulgation of the DFR.

ADDRESSES: For purposes of 28 U.S.C. 2112(a), OSHA designates the 
Associate Solicitor of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health as the 
recipient of petitions for review of the direct final rule. Contact the 
Associate Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor, Room S-4004, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; 
telephone: (202) 693-5445.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Press inquiries: Mr. Frank Meilinger, OSHA Office of 
Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email: 
[email protected].
    General information and technical inquiries: Mr. William Perry or 
Ms. Maureen Ruskin, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-3718, 
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1950; fax: (202) 693-1678.
    Copies of this Federal Register document and news releases: 
Electronic copies of these documents are available

[[Page 31046]]

at OSHA's web page at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Confirmation of Effective Date

    On May 7, 2018, OSHA published a DFR in the Federal Register (83 FR 
19936) amending the text of the beryllium standard for general industry 
to clarify OSHA's intent with respect to certain terms in the standard, 
including the definition of Beryllium Work Area (BWA), the definition 
of emergency, and the meaning of the terms dermal contact and beryllium 
contamination. It also clarifies OSHA's intent with respect to 
provisions for disposal and recycling and with respect to provisions 
that the agency intends to apply only where skin can be exposed to 
materials containing at least 0.1% beryllium by weight. Interested 
parties had until June 6, 2018, to submit comments on the DFR.
    The agency stated that it would publish another document confirming 
the effective date of the DFR if it received no significant adverse 
comments. OSHA received seven comments in the record from Materion 
Brush, Inc., Mead Metals Inc., National Association of Manufacturers, 
Airborn, Inc., Edison Electric Institute, and two private citizens 
(Document IDs OSHA-2018-0003-0004 thru OSHA-2018-0003-0010). The seven 
submissions contained comments that were either supportive of the DFR 
or were considered not to be significant adverse comments. (Document 
IDs OSHA-2018-0003-0004 thru OSHA-2018-0003-0010). Three of these 
submissions also contained comments that were outside the scope of the 
DFR and OSHA is not considering the portions of those submissions that 
are outside the scope (OSHA-2018-0003-0004 thru OSHA-2018-0003-0006).
    OSHA has determined this DFR will maintain safety and health 
protections for workers while reducing employers' compliance burdens. 
As the agency did not receive any significant adverse comments, OSHA is 
hereby confirming that the DFR published on May 7, 2018, will become 
effective on July 6, 2018.

II. OMB Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This action does not add or change any information collection 
requirements subject to OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and its implementing regulations 
at 5 CFR part 1320. The PRA defines a collection of information as the 
obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the 
disclosure to third parties or the public of facts or opinions by or 
for an agency regardless of form or format. See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A). 
While not affected by this rulemaking, the Department has cleared 
information collections related to occupational exposure to beryllium 
standards--general industry, 29 CFR 1910.1024; construction, 29 CFR 
1926.1124; and shipyards, 29 CFR 1915.1024--under control number 1218-
0267. The existing approved information collections are unchanged by 
this rulemaking.
    In the DFR published on May 7, 2018, OSHA provided 30 days for the 
public to comment on whether approved information collections would be 
affected by this rulemaking. The agency did not receive any comments on 
paperwork in response to that notice.

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 1910

    Beryllium, General industry, Health, Occupational safety and 
health.

Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this direct final rule. 
The agency is issuing this rule under Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657), 
Secretary of Labor's Order 5-2007 (72 FR 31159), and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on June 27, 2018.
Loren Sweatt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2018-14274 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


