Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) is incurable, and exposure limits are measured in micrograms. Facilities that machine, weld, or handle beryllium — or work on DOE sites — carry specific, non-negotiable obligations under 10 CFR 850 and OSHA's beryllium standard.
Request a Consultation →Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) is incurable, and exposure limits are measured in micrograms. Facilities that machine, weld, or handle beryllium — or work on DOE sites — carry specific, non-negotiable obligations under 10 CFR 850 and OSHA's beryllium standard.
We help you meet them: establishing or auditing your Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (CBDPP), performing surface and air sampling, and building the documentation that satisfies regulators and protects your workers.
Wipe and air monitoring against OSHA and 10 CFR 850 limits.
Build or review your prevention program end-to-end.
Identify regulated areas, tasks, and control gaps.
Defensible documentation for regulators and workers.
Beryllium work requires specific experience in the environments where it is handled. Ours comes from 25+ years in the DOE complex, where beryllium management is a daily reality — CBDPP support, exposure assessment, and the records that go with them.
It depends on the site. At a DOE facility, work falls under DOE's Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (10 CFR 850), which sets an action level of 0.2 µg/m³ (8-hour TWA). Under the DOE worker safety rule (10 CFR 851), beryllium exposure is managed to the ACGIH TLV rather than the OSHA PEL. Assessment combines personal and area air sampling with surface wipe sampling — DOE work carries a surface contamination action level (0.2 µg/100 cm² for free release) that general industry doesn't — and because these limits are so low, analysis is typically by ICP-MS or fluorescence methods through an AIHA-accredited laboratory. At a non-DOE commercial site, OSHA's beryllium standard (29 CFR 1910.1024) governs instead, with its own action level, PEL, and STEL.
A Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program — required under 10 CFR 850 for DOE facilities that handle beryllium. It covers exposure assessment, engineering controls, regulated areas, medical surveillance, training, and recordkeeping. We build and audit these programs.
Possibly — obligations depend on measured exposure, not frequency. Even intermittent machining or welding of beryllium alloys can produce airborne concentrations above the action level. A baseline assessment tells you whether the standard applies to your operation.
Talk to a Certified Industrial Hygienist with real DOE-complex beryllium experience.