Despite its Usefulness, Beryllium Is Not an Ideal Material

It is expensive and too brittle to work with in some applications.

The most significant disadvantage of beryllium as an industrial material is the toxicity of its dust, fumes, and soluble salts.

Beryllium’s brittleness is the down side of its advantageous stiffness. Brittleness also increases the hazards associated with beryllium’s toxicity. Unless ventilation and other controls are used, small particles and chips of insoluble beryllium-containing materials break off during machining and other processes and spread through the air in the work area. Inhalation of these tiny particles is the type of exposure that can lead to chronic beryllium disease.

Beryllium Is a Significant Workplace Health Hazard

Exposure to beryllium particles can cause a serious illness in certain people. This illness is chronic beryllium disease, or CBD—an irreversible and sometimes fatal scarring of the lungs.

* Medical studies show that even small amounts of beryllium particles of a size that can be breathed deeply into the lungs may trigger an allergy-like sensitivity in 2-5 percent of people exposed.

* About 1 to 3 percent of all people exposed to beryllium develop CBD. In studies of people in certain occupations where historically exposure to beryllium was greatest (for example, studies of machinists in beryllium operations), this number rises to as many as 10 to 14 percent.

* There is currently no widely available test to find out who is sensitive to beryllium before exposure occurs.

* More than 100 current and former employees of Department of Energy (DOE) sites have CBD. The percentage of people who were exposed and became ill is much larger than similar percentages known for other DOE workplace health hazards.

CBD is seen only in individuals who have experienced some exposure to beryllium particles, dust, or fumes.

Chronic Beryllium Disease: A Long-Term Health Effect

Long-term, or chronic, health effects can take years to develop after the first exposure to beryllium and can affect people who were exposed to very small amounts of beryllium. In some cases, CBD has been diagnosed in former office workers and others who had only brief, incidental exposure to beryllium.

CBD is primarily a lung disease, but it may also affect other organs, particularly the lymph nodes, skin, spleen, liver, kidneys, and heart.

CBD is seen in individuals who are sensitized to beryllium.