§1926.55 and new §1926.1124 In accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in the memorandum of January 20, 2017, entitled "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review," the effective date of changes posted for §§1926.55 and 1926.1124, published in the Federal Register on January 9, 2017 (82 FR 2470), is delayed until March 21, 2017.

§1926.55 and new §1926.1124 are amended to further protect workers from occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds. New permissible exposure limits of 0.2 micrograms of beryllium per cubic meter of air (0.2 μg/m³) as an 8-hour time-weighted average and 2.0 μg/m³ as a short-term exposure limit determined over a sampling period of 15 minutes are set. Other provisions such as requirements for exposure assessment, methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, personal protective clothing and equipment, housekeeping, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping are included.

§§1904.0, 1904.4, 1904.29, 1904.32, 1904.33, 1904.34, 1904.35, and 1904.40 show changes effective January 19, 2017. OSHA amended its recordkeeping regulations to clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation. These changes do not impose new compliance obligations and do not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records are not currently required to be made.

§1910.132 and §1910.178 had changes made in accordance with OSHA's revisions to general industry standards on walking-working surfaces to prevent and reduce workplace slips, trips, and falls, as well as other injuries and fatalities associated with walking-working surface hazards.

§1926.55 Appendix A table entries regarding occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica were corrected due to typographical errors.

§1926.5 has been updated with a technical amendment that revised OSHA's regulations to reflect the approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the collections of information contained in OSHA's standard for Confined Spaces in Construction.

§1926.5 reflects a technical amendment revising OSHA's regulations regarding OMB approval of collections of information for the occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The OMB approval number is 1218-0266.

§§1903.2, 1903.6, 1903.15, 1903.16, and 1903.18 have been updated to reflect new civil monetary penalties administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the corresponding provisions to enforce the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act). These changes were issued to comply with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.