OSHA Proposes New Standard to Reduce Respiratory Illness

More than 5 million US workers are required to wear respirators to protect against asphyxiation, inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as inhalation of other potentially harmful substances.

In effort to reduce the number of work-related respiratory illness even further, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a new standard for exposure to the mineral beryllium. health officials have long stressed the dangers of beryllium, linking it to a deadly lung disease that has taken the lives of hundreds of workers.

After decades of delay, federal workplace regulators on Thursday proposed a sharply lower limit for exposure to beryllium, a widely used industrial mineral, which is linked to a deadly lung disease. Beryllium is a naturally occurring metal that, when inhaled, can result in the formation of chronic beryllium disease. It's unclear exactly how many workers have succumbed to this disease, but an OSHA spokesperson estimated there to be roughly 245 new cased diagnosed each year, attesting to the need for a new and improved standard.

According to an article published by the New York Times, OSHA had first proposed a standard to lower exposure limits of beryllium back in 1975. At the time, however, companies with stake in the mining and mineral production industry fought it; thus, the new standard never passed.

"This collaboration of industry and labor presents a historic opportunity to protect the lives and lungs of thousands of beryllium-exposed workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “We hope other industries where workers are exposed to deadly substances join with unions and other organizations representing those workers to reduce exposures, prevent diseases and save lives.”

So, how much of an effect will the new standard have? OSHA currently limits workers' exposure to beryllium at 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air per each eight-hour interval. Under the newly proposed standard, this limit would be dropped to just 0.2 micrograms per cubic. OSHA says that it will save around 100 lives and 50 serious injuries per year once active.

For more information on OSHA's newly proposed beryllium standard, visit https://www.osha.gov/newsrelease/nat-20150806.html.