Effective June 15, employers will be required to notify their employees of the results of all hexavalent chromium exposure tests, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a final rule published in the May 14 Federal Register.

To make the hexavalent chromium standard in general industry, construction, and maritime operations consistent with other substance-specific rules, OSHA said in a March 17 direct final rule it would require employers to notify affected employees in 15 days under the general industry standard and within 5 days under the construction and maritime standards. The standard currently requires notification only if the concentration of airborne Cr(VI) exceeds the permissible exposure limit. Following each test, employers must "individually notify each affected employee in writing of the results of that determination or post the results in an appropriate location accessible to all affected employees."

The AFL-CIO and Ameren, an electric and natural gas utility company, both separately supported OSHA's decision to move forward with the direct final rule.

"It's good that they're moving forward and trying to do this in an expeditious manner," said Peg Seminario, director of health and safety at the AFL-CIO.

"OSHA's direct final rule on revising the notification requirements in the exposure determination provisions of the hexavalent chromium standards takes a positive approach in our efforts to ensure employees are working safely to control exposures to hexavalent chromium," Charles Riggs, an industrial hygienist for Ameren wrote in comments on the rule.

Source: BNA Construction Labor Report