Environmental Standards: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established the following limits:

* Maximum permissible air concentration level, which is 0.01 µg Be/m3 averaged over a 30-day period (in 40 CFR 61.32, Emission Standard).

* Maximum contaminant level for beryllium in drinking water, which is 4 µg Be/L (in 40 CFR 141.62).

However, the EPA has not yet set water quality criteria for beryllium in ambient water (40 CFR 131.38). The regulations specify that individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits shall address beryllium under the EPA's narrative criteria for toxics. In addition, LLNL has established reuse criteria for soils generated and reused at LLNL (see Document 33.3, "Management of Soils and Debris," in the ES

3.4 Engineering Controls

This section specifies the engineering controls applicable to the handling of beryllium and its compounds. Maintenance of systems used to control beryllium are subject to all the controls established in this document to minimize worker exposure to beryllium and to minimize opportunities for exposure.

Section 3.7, Facilities and Equipment, provides additional requirements for facility design and layout.

3.4.1 Exhaust Ventilation

All repetitive indoor operations that may generate airborne beryllium equaling or exceeding the AL shall be enclosed and shall be equipped with local exhaust ventilation. Exhaust systems used to control beryllium work shall comply with Document 12.2 and 12.4. The ES

3.4.2 HEPA Filtration

Required HEPA filter exhaust systems shall comply with Document 12.5 which implements "HEPA Filter and In-place Leak Testing Standard," (UCRL-AR-133354, Rev. 2). Required HEPA filter systems shall be visually inspected semiannually and be evaluated for performance annually.

Vacuums used for cleaning up beryllium contamination shall be equipped with HEPA filters. Such vacuums shall be labeled (see Section 3.5.8) and controlled and shall not be used for non-hazardous materials.

3.5 Administrative Controls

This section describes the administrative controls applicable to the handling of beryllium and its compounds.

3.5.1 Population at Risk