3.6.2 Other Personal Protective Equipment

The use of other PPE (e. g., gloves, lab coats, or coveralls), as determined by the ES

* Airborne exposures to beryllium equal or exceed the AL.

* Surface contamination exceeds, or is presumed to exceed, the housekeeping standard (i.e., 3 µg Be/100 cm2).

All workers required or wanting to use PPE shall follow the requirements of Document 11.1, which requires that the selection of PPE be documented. The processes of Document 2.2 shall also be followed.

3.7 Facilities and Equipment

Facilities used for beryllium work should be designed to minimize the spread of beryllium aerosols and to minimize beryllium contamination and opportunities for beryllium exposure. Therefore, such facilities have the following features:

* Beryllium work areas that are at negative pressure relative to non-beryllium work areas (e.g., beryllium machine shops).

* Building components (e.g., floors and walls) that are nonporous (for ease of decontamination), to the extent feasible.

* A facility layout that enables non-beryllium workers to enter and pass between non-beryllium work areas in the facility without entering a beryllium work area.

* Eyewashes and safety showers shall be provided where operations are done routinely in which eye or skin contact with dust or splinters is possible. Requirements for training the users of eyewashes/safety showers are found in Section 3.1.3 of Document 10.2 (for non-laboratory situations), and Section 3.2.6 of Document 14.2 (for laboratory situations). Requirements for testing safety showers/eyewashes are specified in Appendix B of Document 14.1. Engineering specifications are found in LLNL Facility Standard PEL-M-11610, "Emergency Eyewash and Shower Units."

When a regulated beryllium work area needs to be established (see Section 3.5.7), the change room and showers should be located as close as possible, and preferably adjacent, to the regulated area or located in such a manner that beryllium contamination is not spread throughout the facility or to other workers. The ES

3.8 Housekeeping

Beryllium work areas shall be kept as clean as the nature of the work allows during operational periods. The work area shall be cleaned at the conclusion of work. [The interior of a system (e.g., enclosure, glove box, chamber, or ventilation system) designed to contain beryllium contamination is not subject to this cleaning and sampling requirement.] Cleaning shall use techniques (e.g., wet methods or HEPA vacuuming) that do not produce airborne dust. Equipment used for cleaning beryllium-contaminated areas shall not be used for nonhazardous materials. Such equipment shall be labeled as beryllium contaminated using the label shown in Figure 3.

During nonoperational periods, beryllium work areas shall have residual surface contamination verified to be less than 3 µg Be/100 cm2 based on a routine sampling protocol that meets Appendix C guidelines. Sampling shall be conducted as often as necessary to ensure 95% confidence in meeting the housekeeping standard.