68854 Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 1999 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY H. Review Under Small Business as nuclear reactor moderators or Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of reflectors, and as nuclear reactor fuel 10 CFR Part 850 1996 element cladding. At DOE, beryllium Appendix A to the PreambleÐReferences operations have historically included Appendix B to the PreambleÐQuestions and [Docket No. EH±RM±98±BRYLM] Answers Concerning the Beryllium melting, casting, grinding, and machine Induced Lymphocyte Proliferation Test tooling of parts. (Be±LPT), Medical Records, and the Inhalation of beryllium dust or RIN 1901±AA75 Department of Energy (DOE) Beryllium particles can cause chronic beryllium disease (CBD) or beryllium Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Registry sensitization. CBD is a chronic, often Program I. Introduction debilitating, and sometimes fatal lung AGENCY: Office of Environment, Safety This final rule implements a chronic condition. Beryllium sensitization is a and Health, Department of Energy. beryllium disease prevention program condition in which a person's immune (CBDPP) for the Department of Energy system becomes highly responsive ACTION: Final rule. (DOE or the Department). This program (allergic) to the presence of beryllium in will reduce the number of workers the body. There has long been scientific SUMMARY: The Department of Energy currently exposed to beryllium at DOE consensus that exposure to airborne (DOE) is today publishing a final rule to facilities managed by DOE or its beryllium is the only cause of CBD. establish a chronic beryllium disease contractors, minimize the levels of, and As of September 1999, among the prevention program (CBDPP) to reduce potential for, exposure to beryllium, 11,266 current and former DOE federal the number of workers currently establish medical surveillance and contractor workers who were exposed to beryllium in the course of requirements to ensure early detection screened for the disease, 130 workers their work at DOE facilities managed by of disease, and improve the state of had been diagnosed with CBD, and DOE or its contractors, minimize the information regarding chronic beryllium another 277 workers had become levels of, and potential for, exposure to disease and beryllium sensitization. sensitized to beryllium. DOE anticipates beryllium, and establish medical On December 3, 1998, DOE published an increase in the number of workers surveillance requirements to ensure a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking who may be exposed to beryllium as early detection of the disease. This (NOPR) for public comment in the DOE moves forward with deactivating program improves and codifies Federal Register (63 FR 66940) and decommissioning former nuclear provisions of a temporary CBDPP proposing regulations for a chronic weapons production facilities. established by DOE directive in 1997. beryllium disease prevention program. The current worker protection EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective The public comment period for the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 2 January 7, 2000. NOPR ended on March 9, 1999. DOE µg/m3, measured as an 8-hour, time- weighted average (TWA), was adopted FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: received 36 comment letters. In by the Occupational Safety and Health Jacqueline D. Rogers, U.S. Department addition, public hearings were held on Administration (OSHA) in 1971 and of Energy, Office of Environment, Safety February 3, 1999, in Oak Ridge, codified in 29 CFR 1910.1000, Tables Z± and Health, EH±51, 1000 Independence Tennessee; February 9, 1999, in Golden, Colorado; and February 11, 1999, in 1, Z±2 and Z±3 by reference to existing Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, national consensus standards. DOE's 301±903±5684. Washington, DC. Comment letters were received from private individuals, DOE predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: contractors, other federal agencies, trade Commission (AEC), had previously I. Introduction associations, academia, public health established the same limit of 2 µg/m3 for A. Background and medical professionals, and application at its facilities in 1949, and B. Chemical Identification and Use attorneys. that limit has remained in effect at C. Health Effects DOE's facilities up to the present. In 1. Chronic Beryllium Disease On June 3, 1999, DOE published a 2. Beryllium Exposures at DOE Operations notice of limited reopening of the 1977, the National Institute for 3. Epidemiology comment period (64 FR 29811) to solicit Occupational Safety and Health 4. Value of Early Detection public comments on options that DOE (NIOSH), a federal agency, II. Legal Authority and Relationship to Other was considering for the criteria to be recommended to OSHA an exposure Programs used for the release or transfer of limit of 0.5 µg/m3 for beryllium. NIOSH, III. Overview of the Final Rule equipment and other items previously at the same time, classified beryllium as IV. Section-by-Section Discussion of used in DOE beryllium operations, a potential occupational carcinogen. Comments and Rule Provisions Between the 1970s and 1984, there A. Subpart AÐGeneral Provisions either to other DOE facilities or to the public. In response to this reopening of appeared to be a significant reduction in B. Subpart BÐAdministrative the incidence rate of CBD. This, coupled Requirements the comment period, DOE received 15 C. Subpart CÐSpecific Program additional comments. with the long latency period for the Requirements DOE has carefully considered the disease, led to the assumption that CBD List of Commenters comments and data from interested was occurring only among workers who V. Procedural Requirements parties, as well as reference works, had been exposed to high levels of A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 journal articles, and other information beryllium decades earlier (e.g., in the B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility relevant to the subject of the 1940s). However, the number of Act rulemaking. confirmed cases of CBD, more recent C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction data suggesting the occurrence of CBD Act A. Background among workers with low-level D. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act DOE has a long history of beryllium exposures, and the expected future E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 use because of the element's broad increase in the number of workers F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 application to many nuclear operations potentially exposed to beryllium (during G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates and processes. Beryllium metal and decontamination and decommissioning Reform Act of 1995 ceramics are used in nuclear weapons, activities) all indicate a need for more VerDate 29-OCT-99 10:58 Dec 07, 1999 Jkt 190000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\A08DE0.189 pfrm04 PsN: 08DER3 Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 1999 / Rules and Regulations 68855 aggressive workplace controls to exposed to beryllium in the development of a DOE beryllium worker Ä minimize worker exposure to beryllium performance of these 64 operations or protection rule, Secretary Pena also in the DOE complex. processes. These estimates were established the Beryllium Rule Advisory In December 1998, the American updated in 1999 through a cost survey Committee (BRAC) in June 1997 to Conference of Governmental Industrial conducted by the Office of advise DOE on issues pertinent to the Hygienists (ACGIH) published a Notice Environment, Safety and Health (1999 proposed rulemaking. The BRAC, which of Intended Change for its beryllium Environment, Safety and Health Cost consisted of a diverse set of stakeholders exposure limit. ACGIH is a professional Survey). In this survey, 14 DOE sites and recognized experts from DOE, other organization that develops and indicated that they would be affected by federal agencies, industry, labor, publishes consensus occupational the proposed rule. These sites reported medicine, and academia, explored health standards. In the Notice, ACGIH that 1,634 workers in more than 100 issues and generated recommendations proposed an 8-hour TWA of 0.2 µg/m3 different job categories would be for consideration in the development of to help minimize the occurrence of CBD potentially exposed to beryllium and a CBDPP rule.1 and sensitization. DOE's NOPR did not 1,236 of these workers (75.6 percent) address ACGIH's proposed change would be potentially exposed at the B. Chemical Identification and Use because publication of the NOPR proposed action level or PEL. Beryllium (atomic number 4) is a preceded ACGIH's announcement. The 1996 survey also provided silver-gray, metallic element with a DOE has reviewed current technical information on exposure levels density of 1.85 g/cm3 and a high information and is of the opinion that it experienced by workers at the surveyed stiffness. The second lightest of the is difficult to determine the exposure sites. Although the exposure data were metals, beryllium also has a high level that is necessary to eliminate the not comprehensive, the reported 8-hour melting point (1285° C) and heat risk of contracting CBD. Until OSHA TWA exposure data (personal breathing absorption capacity; a pound of completes its rulemaking, DOE has zone monitoring results) for these beryllium will absorb as much heat as decided to implement an aggressive, workers ranged from nondetectable to 5 pounds of copper. two-pronged exposure reduction and 25 µg/m3. Most of these exposure levels Beryllium occurs naturally in the minimization