OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Regulations

[abachman]

I'm not sure how many have seen the new OSHA regulations on Hexavalent Chromium. Here is a brief summary of the new federal regulations.

OSHA issues directive for hexavalent chromium

OSHA recently issued a directive, CPL 02-02-074, which provides policy and guidance for enforcement of the occupational exposure standards for hexavalent chromium. Implementation of these enforcement procedures began Jan. 24, 2008. In addition, special policies are also provided for enforcement until May 31, 2010, when employers must comply with requirements for feasible engineering and work practice controls.

Background
On Feb. 28, 2006, OSHA issued three standards for hexavalent chromium (also written as chromium (VI) and abbreviated as Cr(VI)), adding three new sections to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as Sections 29 CFR 1910.1026, 29 CFR 1926.1126, and 29 CFR 1915.1026, applicable to general industry, construction, and shipyards, respectively. All three standards were effective May 30, 2006. Employers with 20 or more employees were allowed six months, until a start-up date of Nov. 27, 2006, to come into compliance with most of the provisions of the standards. Employers with 19 or fewer employees were allowed 12 months, until a start-up date of May 30, 2007, to come into compliance with most of the provisions. All employers were allowed four years from the effective date, a deadline of May 31, 2010, to install feasible engineering controls.

For more information
To view the new enforcement policy and guidance, visit: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive..._02-02-074.pdf