Osha Instruction

This new Chromium (VI) Directive addresses enforcement procedures for the new Chromium (VI) standards published in the Federal Register (FR) on February 28, 2006. On that date, 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 November 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. The general industry standard, 29 CFR 1910.1026, also includes an appended settlement agreement with the Surface Finishing Industry Council (SFIC). This new Directive provides policy and guidance for enforcement of all three Cr(VI) standards, and implementation of these enforcement procedures shall begin on the effective date of this Directive. Special policies are also provided for enforcement until May 31, 2010, when employers must comply with requirements for feasible engineering and work practice controls. The new Cr(VI) standards have lowered the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to 5 g/m3 and established an action level of 2.5 g/m3.