The Responsible Individual shall review and approve visitors and other ancillary personnel in beryllium work areas and shall inform such personnel of the hazards and controls of the area. Visitors to beryllium work areas should be discouraged unless essential to the mission in question.

3.5.3 Hazard Assessments

All beryllium operations, unless exempt from this document, shall be reviewed with an Integration Work Sheet (IWS) as described in Document 2.2. Work with beryllium shall not be considered as work commonly performed by the public. Such review shall take into consideration the following:

* The amount and nature of work to be performed, including preparation, maintenance, and cleanup.

* The amount of beryllium and chemical form to be used.

* The potential for aerosol production, including emergency response for spills and unplanned events.

* Historical air, swipe, or other data for similar operations.

* The number of workers involved.

* The number of co-located workers not involved in the work.

The hazard assessment that is performed as part of the IWS evaluation shall determine the controls (i.e., engineering, administrative, and PPE) necessary to keep airborne exposures below the AL and as low as practical. If there is a potential for airborne exposure to beryllium, then the Responsible Individual and the cognizant ES

Welding or torch-cutting beryllium indoors, outdoors, or in a confined space is a presumptive task that may result in high exposures to airborne beryllium. Workers shall use local exhaust ventilation and airline respirators until personal air sampling conducted under worst-case conditions shows that exposures are within acceptable levels. Co-located workers who are not part of the operation shall be similarly protected.

In addition, all workers involved in a beryllium operation shall be evaluated to determine if they are beryllium workers. The operation shall be evaluated to determine if a regulated area is required; see Section 3.5.7 for specifics.

The basic principle for mitigating beryllium hazards is to establish controls to minimize both the number of workers exposed and the opportunities for exposure and to keep the exposure potential as low as practical.

3.5.4 Beryllium Inventories

As part of the hazard assessment process, Responsible Individuals shall develop and maintain an inventory of beryllium, beryllium alloys, and beryllium compounds present in the facility. At the facility manager's discretion, UNCLASSIFIED (only) beryllium inventory information may be included in ChemTrack or obtained and tracked through some other means.