The Beryllium Thread

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I'm putting this in here so that it won't hang around the top of the lounge while I cut and paste information in to post after post.

This is part of my ongoing offseaon attempt to get us ranked on the first page of some search engine(s) when nerds search for "beryllium".

Before you PM me with "Why?", the answer is simply that I am sitting around reading log files at work and cutting and pasting into this thread requires absolutely NO mental stress.

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Under 10 CFR 850.2 (Applicability), articles are exempt from the requirements of the rule. The term "article," as used in the exemption, has a meaning that is subject to specific criteria derived from the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (i.e., 29 CFR 1910) and from interpretations in OSHA Compliance Instruction CPL 2-2.38D. An article is a manufactured item that:

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* Is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture.

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* Has end-use functions that depend in whole or in part on its shape or design during end use.

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* Does not release beryllium or otherwise result in exposure to airborne concentrations of beryllium under normal conditions of use.

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The following three examples illustrate the differences between items that can be considered articles and items that cannot:

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1. Example of a nonexempt item. A piece of beryllium stock that is to be machined into a part is not an article because (1) it is not in its finished form, (2) its use is dependent on that form, and (3) machining the piece will produce beryllium particulates in potentially hazardous quantities.

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2. Example of a nonexempt item. A finished part that has gone through the final cleaning step of its manufacturing process is swiped and found to have a residual surface contamination of less than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2. However, further handling or use (e.g., abrading the surface or exposing the object to an environment that results in removable oxidation, but not including operations that do not abrade the surface) results in removal beryllium surface contamination greater than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2. The part is no longer an article and is subject to the rule. Beryllium metal or beryllium-copper alloy objects are expected to meet this criteria; beryllium oxide objects may not meet the criteria, although the determination depends on use.

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3. Example of an exempt item. A finished part that has gone through the final cleaning step of its manufacturing process is swiped and found to have residual surface contamination of less than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2, and further handling will not abrade the part's surfaces, i.e., there will be no removal beryllium surface contamination exceeding 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2. This part is an article and is exempt from the rule.

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Before a beryllium item is considered an article, the following process shall be implemented:

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1. The item shall be assumed to be contaminated until surface contamination is determined.

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2. Swipes shall be taken by the ES

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3. If swipes reveal contamination that is less than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2, the article or its container shall be labeled as an article with the date of the sampling and sample numbers (see Figure 5). If labeling of the article or its container would be inappropriate, then a record of the results of swiping shall be maintained with other documents for the work process.

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4. If swipes reveal contamination that is greater than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2, the part may be recleaned and surface contamination reevaluated. If the results are less than 0.2 µg Be/100 cm2, the part shall be labeled as an article (see Figure 5).

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Equipment that is purchased for LLNL use and that has internal beryllium components does not require further evaluation. The components are assumed to be articles unless worked on by LLNL personnel, at which point the components are subject to the controls of this document.

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4.0 Responsibilities