How can beryllium affect my health?

Beryllium can be harmful if you breathe it. The effects depend on how much you are exposed to and for how long. If beryllium air levels are high enough (greater than 1000 µg/m3), an acute condition can result. This condition resembles pneumonia and is called acute beryllium disease Occupational and community air standards are effective in preventing most acute lung damage.

Some people (1-15%) become sensitive to beryllium. These individuals may develop an inflammatory reaction in the respiratory system. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (CBD), and can occur many years after exposure to higher than normal

This disease can make you feel weak and tired, and can cause difficulty in breathing. It can also result in anorexia, weight loss, and may also lead to right side heart enlargement and heart disease in advanced cases. Some people who are sensitized to beryllium may not have any symptoms. The general population is unlikely to develop acute or chronic beryllium disease because ambient air levels of beryllium are normally very low (0.00003-0.0002 µg/m3).

Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause effects in humans because very little beryllium is absorbed from the stomach and intestines. Ulcers have been seen in dogs ingesting beryllium in the diet. Beryllium contact with skin that has been scraped or cut may cause rashes or ulcers.

How likely is beryllium to cause cancer?

Long term exposure to beryllium can increase the risk of developing lung cancer in people.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have determined that beryllium is a human carcinogen. The EPA has determined that beryllium is a probable human carcinogen. EPA has estimated that lifetime exposure to 0.04 µg/m3 beryllium can result in a one in a thousand chance of developing cancer.

How can beryllium affect children?

There are no studies on the health effects of children exposed to beryllium. It is likely that the health effects seen in children exposed to beryllium will be similar to the effects seen in adults. We do not know whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to beryllium.

We do not know if exposure to beryllium will result in birth defects or other developmental effects in people. The studies on developmental effects in animals are not conclusive.

How can families reduce the risk of exposure to beryllium?

* Most families will not be exposed to high levels of beryllium.
* Children should avoid playing in soils near uncontrolled hazardous waste sites where beryllium may have been discarded.

Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to beryllium?

Beryllium can be measured in the urine and blood. The amount of beryllium in blood or urine may not indicate how much or how recently you were exposed. Beryllium levels can also be measured in lung and skin samples. These tests are not usually available at your doctor's office, but your doctor can send the samples to a laboratory that can perform the tests.

Another blood test, the blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), identifies beryllium sensitization and has predictive value for CBD.

Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?

The EPA restricts the amount of beryllium that industries may release into the air to 0.01 µg/m3, averaged over a 30-day period.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets a limit of 2 µg/m3 of workroom air for an 8-hour work shift.

References

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2002. Toxicological Profile for Beryllium. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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Beryllium (IPA: /bəˈrɪliəm/) is the chemical element that has the symbol Be and atomic number 4. A bivalent element, elemental beryllium is a steel grey, strong, light-weight yet brittle, alkaline earth metal. It is primarily used as a hardening agent in alloys (most notably beryllium copper).

Notable characteristics

It has the highest melting points of the light metals. The modulus of elasticity of beryllium is approximately 1/3 greater than that of steel. It has excellent thermal conductivity, is nonmagnetic and resists attack by concentrated nitric acid. It is highly permeable to X-rays, and neutrons are liberated when it is hit by alpha particles, as from radium or polonium (about 30 neutrons/million alpha particles). At standard temperature and pressures beryllium resists oxidation when exposed to air (although its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide). The speed of sound in beryllium (12,500m/s) is greater than in any other element.

The name beryllium comes from the Greek beryllos, beryl, from Prakrit veruliya, from Pāli veuriya; possibly from or simply akin to a Dravidian source represented by Tamil veiruor, viar, "to whiten, become pale."[1] At one time beryllium was referred to as glucinium (from Greek glykys, sweet), due to the sweet taste of its salts (with the accompanying chemical symbol "Gl" [2]) .

This element was discovered by Louis Vauquelin in 1798 as the oxide in beryl and in emeralds. Friedrich Wöhler and A. A. Bussy independently isolated the metal in 1828 by reacting potassium and beryllium chloride.

Beryllium is an essential constituent of about 100 out of about 4000 known minerals, the most important of which are bertrandite (Be4Si2O7(OH)2), beryl (Al2Be3Si6O18), chrysoberyl (Al2BeO4), and phenakite (Be2SiO4). Precious forms of beryl are aquamarine and emerald.

The most important commercial sources of beryllium and its compounds are beryl and bertrandite. Beryllium metal did not become readily available until 1957. Currently, most production of this metal is accomplished by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal. The price on the US market for vacuum-cast beryllium ingots was 338 US$ per pound ($745/kg) in 2001.[3]

BeF2 + Mg → MgF2 + Be

Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in the production of beryllium-copper, containing up to 2.5% beryllium. Beryllium-copper alloys are used in a wide variety of applications because of their combination of high electrical and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness, nonmagnetic properties, along with good corrosion and fatigue resistance. These applications include the making of spot-welding electrodes, springs, non-sparking tools and electrical contacts.

Beryllium metal is, due to its stiffness, light weight, and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, used in the defense and aerospace industries as light-weight structural materials in high-speed aircraft, missiles, space vehicles and communication satellites.

Thin sheets of beryllium foil are used with X-ray detection diagnostics to filter out visible light and allow only X-rays to be detected.

Sheets of beryllium ranging from 3mm (0.125") thick down to 25µm (0.001") thick are used as the output window in x-ray tubes, allowing x-rays to leave the tube while keeping a vacuum on the inside of the tube.

Beryllium is an effective p-type dopant in III-V compound semiconductors. It is widely used in materials such as GaAs, AlGaAs, InGaAs, and InAlAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).

In the field of X-ray lithography beryllium is used for the reproduction of microscopic integrated circuits.

In the telecommunications industry, Beryllium is made into tools that are used to tune the highly magnetic klystrons used for high power microwave transmissions for safety.

Beryllium is used in nuclear weapons for similar reasons. For example, the critical mass of a plutonium sphere is significantly reduced if the plutonium is surrounded by a beryllium shell.

Beryllium is sometimes used in neutron sources, in which the beryllium is mixed with an alpha emitter such as 210Po, 226Ra, 239Pu or 241Am.

Beryllium is also used in the making of gyroscopes, various computer equipment, watch springs and instruments where light-weight, rigidity and dimensional stability are needed.

# Beryllium oxide is useful for many applications that require an excellent heat conductor, with high strength and hardness, with a very high melting point, and that acts as an electrical insulator.

Beryllium compounds were once used in fluorescent lighting tubes, but this use was discontinued because of berylliosis in the workers manufacturing the tubes (see below).

The James Webb Space Telescope[4] will have 18 hexagonal beryllium sections for its mirrors. Because JWST will face a temperature of −240 degrees Celsius (30 kelvins), the mirror is made of beryllium, a material capable of handling extreme cold better than glass. Beryllium contracts and deforms less than glass — and thus remains more uniform — in such temperatures. For the same reason, the optics of the Spitzer Space Telescope are entirely built of beryllium.

Beryllium is also used in the Joint European Torus fusion research facility and will be used in ITER, to condition the plasma facing components.[5]

Beryllium has also been used in tweeter and mid-range audio loudspeaker construction by companies like Brush Wellman - Electrofusion Products and Focal-JMlab (on its flagship Utopia Be series) as an alternative to titanium and aluminium, largely due to its lower density and greater rigidity.[6]

Because of its low atomic number beryllium is almost transparent to energetic electrically charged particles. Therefore it is used to build the beam pipe around the collision region in collider particle physics experiments. Notably all four main experiment at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb) use a beryllium beam-pipe.

Of beryllium's isotopes, only 9Be is stable. Cosmogenic 10Be is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray spallation of oxygen and nitrogen. Because beryllium tends to exist in solution at pH levels less than about 5.5 (and most rainwater has a pH less than 5), it will enter into solution and be transported to the Earth's surface via rainwater. As the precipitation quickly becomes more alkaline, beryllium drops out of solution. Cosmogenic 10Be thereby accumulates at the soil surface, where its relatively long half-life (1.51 million years) permits a long residence time before decaying to 10B. 10Be and its daughter products have been used to examine soil erosion, soil formation from regolith, the development of lateritic soils, as well as variations in solar activity and the age of ice cores.

The fact that 7Be and 8Be are unstable has profound cosmological consequences as it means that elements heavier than beryllium could not be produced by nuclear fusion in the Big Bang. Moreover, the nuclear energy levels of 8Be are such that carbon can be produced within stars, thus making life possible. (See triple-alpha process and Big Bang nucleosynthesis).

The shortest-lived known isotope of beryllium is 13Be which decays through neutron emission. It has a half-life of 2.7 × 10-21 seconds. 6Be also is also very short-lived with a half-life of 5.0 × 10-21 seconds.

The exotics 11Be and 14Be are known to exhibit a nuclear halo.

Beryllium and its salts are toxic substances and potentially carcinogenic. Chronic berylliosis is a pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease caused by exposure to beryllium. Acute beryllium disease in the form of chemical pneumonitis was first reported in Europe in 1933 and in the United States in 1943. Cases of chronic berylliosis were first described in 1946 among workers in plants manufacturing fluorescent lamps in Massachusetts. Chronic berylliosis resembles sarcoidosis in many respects, and the differential diagnosis is often difficult.

Although the use of beryllium compounds in fluorescent lighting tubes was discontinued in 1949, potential for exposure to beryllium exists in the nuclear and aerospace industries and in the refining of beryllium metal and melting of beryllium-containing alloys, the manufacturing of electronic devices, and the handling of other beryllium-containing material.

Early researchers tasted beryllium and its various compounds for sweetness in order to verify its presence. Modern diagnostic equipment no longer necessitates this highly risky procedure and no attempt should be made to ingest this substance. Beryllium and its compounds should be handled with great care and special precautions must be taken when carrying out any activity which could result in the release of beryllium dust (lung cancer is a possible result of prolonged exposure to beryllium laden dust).

This substance can be handled safely if certain procedures are followed. No attempt should be made to work with beryllium before familiarization with correct handling procedures.

A successful test for beryllium on different surface areas has been recently developed. The procedure uses fluorescence when beryllium is bound to sulfonated hydroxybenzoquinoline to detect up to 10 times lower than the recommended limit for beryllium concentration in the work place. Fluorescence increases with increasing beryllium concentration. The new procedure has been successfully tested on a variety of surfaces.

Inhalation

Beryllium can be harmful if inhaled and the effects depend on period of exposure. If beryllium air levels are high enough (greater than 100 µg/m³), an acute condition can result, called acute beryllium disease, which resembles pneumonia. Occupational and community air standards are effective in preventing most acute lung damage. Long term exposure to beryllium can increase the risk of developing lung cancer. The more common and serious health hazard from beryllium today is chronic beryllium disease (CBD), discussed below. It continues to occur in industries as diverse as metal recycling, dental laboratories, alloy manufacturing, nuclear weapons production, defense industries, and metal machine shops that work with alloys containing small amounts of beryllium.

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD)

Some people (1-15%) become sensitive to beryllium. These individuals may develop an inflammatory reaction that principally targets the respiratory system and skin. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (CBD),

and can occur within a few months or many years after exposure to higher than normal levels of beryllium (greater than 0.02 µg/m³). This disease causes fatigue, weakness, night sweats and can cause difficulty in breathing and a persistent dry cough. It can result in anorexia, weight loss, and may also lead to right-side heart enlargement and heart disease in advanced cases. Some people who are sensitized to beryllium may not have any symptoms. The disease is treatable but not curable. CBD occurs when the body's immune system recognizes beryllium particles as foreign material and mounts an immune system attack against the particles. Because these particles are typically inhaled into the lungs, the lungs becomes the major site where the immune system responds. The lungs become inflamed, filled with large numbers of white blood cells that accumulate wherever beryllium particles are found. The cells form balls around the beryllium particles called "granulomas."

When enough of these granulomas develop, they interfere with the normal function of the organ. Over time, the lungs become stiff and lose their ability to help transfer oxygen from the air into the bloodstream. Patients with CBD develop difficulty inhaling and exhaling sufficient amounts of air and the amount of oxygen in their bloodstreams falls. Treatment of such patients includes use of oxygen and medicines that try to suppress the immune system's over-reaction to beryllium. A class of immunosuppressive medicines called glucocorticoids (example: prednisone), is most commonly used as treatment. The general population is unlikely to develop acute or chronic beryllium disease because ambient air levels of beryllium are normally very low (0.00003-0.0002 µg/m³).

Ingestion

Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause effects in humans because very little beryllium is absorbed from the stomach and intestines. Ulcers have been seen in dogs ingesting beryllium in the diet. Beryllium contact with skin that has been scraped or cut may cause rashes or ulcers, or bumps under the skin called "granulomas."

Effects on children

There are no studies on the health effects of children exposed to beryllium, although individual cases of CBD have been reported in children of beryllium workers from the 1940s. It is likely that the health effects seen in children exposed to beryllium will be similar to the effects seen in adults. It is unknown whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to beryllium. It is unclear whether beryllium is teratogenic.

Detection in the body

Beryllium can be measured in the urine and blood. The amount of beryllium in blood or urine may not indicate time or quantity of exposure. Beryllium levels can also be measured in lung and skin samples. While such measurements may help establish that exposure has occurred, other tests are used to determine if that exposure has resulted in health effects. A blood test, the blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), identifies beryllium sensitization and has predictive value for CBD. The BeLPT has become the standard test for detecting beryllium sensitization and CBD in individuals who are suspected of having CBD and to help distinguish it from similar conditions such as sarcoidosis. It is also the main test used in industry health programs to monitor whether disease is occurring among current and former workers who have been exposed to beryllium on the job. The test can detect disease that is at an early stage, or can detect disease at more advanced stages of illness as well. The BeLPT can also be performed using cells obtained from a person's lung by a procedure called "bronchoscopy."

Industrial release limits

Typical levels of beryllium that industries may release into the air are of the order of 0.01 µg/m³, averaged over a 30-day period, or 2 µg/m³ of workroom air for an 8-hour work shift. Compliance with the current U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit for beryllium of 2 µg/m³ has been determined to be inadequate to protect workers from developing beryllium sensitization and CBD. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), which is an independent organization of experts in the field of occupational health, has proposed a threshold limit value (TLV) of 0.05 µg/m³ in a 2006 Notice of Intended Change (NIC). This TLV is 40 times lower than the current OHSA permissible exposure limit, reflecting the ACGIH analysis of best available peer-reviewed research data concerning how little airborne beryllium is required to cause sensitization and CBD. Because it can be difficult to control industrial exposures to beryllium, it is advisable to use any methods possible to reduce airborne and surface contamination by beryllium, to minimize the use of beryllium and beryllium-containing alloys whenever possible, and to educate people about the potential hazards if they are likely to encounter beryllium dust or fumes.

Beryllium, atomic number 4, is a brittle, steel-gray metal found as a component of coal, oil, certain rock minerals, volcanic dust, and soil. Elemental beryllium is the second lightest of all metals and is used in a wide variety of applications. In its elemental form beryllium exhibits the unique properties of being light weight and extremely stiff, giving the metal several applications in the aerospace, nuclear, and manufacturing industries. In addition, beryllium is amazingly versatile as a metal alloy where it is used in dental appliances, golf clubs, non-sparking tools, wheel chairs, and electronic devices.

(bsymbolrĭl´ēsymbolm) [from beryl ], metallic chemical element; symbol Be; at. no. 4; at. wt. 9.01218; m.p. about 1,278°C; b.p. 2,970°C (estimated); sp. gr. 1.85 at 20°C; valence +2. Beryllium is a strong, extremely light, high-melting, silver-gray metal with a close-packed hexagonal crystalline structure. It is an alkaline-earth metal in group IIa of the periodic table. Beryllium is resistant to corrosion; weight for weight, it is stronger than steel, and because of its low density (about 1/3 that of aluminum) it has found extensive use in the aerospace industry.

Beryllium is soluble in hot nitric acid, dilute hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, and sodium hydroxide. Like aluminum and magnesium, which it resembles chemically, it readily forms compounds with other elements; it is not found free in nature. However, like aluminum, it is resistant to oxidation in air, even at a red heat; it is thought to form a protective oxide film that prevents further oxidation. The compounds of beryllium are sweet-tasting and highly toxic; this toxicity has limited the use of beryllium as a rocket fuel, even though it yields more heat on combustion for its weight than any other element.

Beryllium transmits X rays much better than glass or other metals; this property, together with its high melting point, makes it desirable as a window material for high-intensity X-ray tubes. Because beryllium resists attack by liquid sodium metal, it is employed in cooling systems of nuclear reactors that use liquid sodium as the heat-transfer material; because it is a good reflector and absorber of neutrons, it is also used as a shield and as a moderator in nuclear reactors.

The addition of 2% to 3% of beryllium to copper makes a nonmagnetic alloy six times stronger than pure copper. This alloy is used to make nonsparking tools for use in oil refineries and other places where sparks constitute a fire hazard; it is also used for small mechanical parts, such as camera shutters. When beryllium is alloyed with other metals such as aluminum or gold it yields substances with a higher melting point, greater hardness and strength, and lower density than the metal with which it is alloyed.

Beryllium aluminum silicates, especially beryl (of which emerald and aquamarine are varieties), constitute the chief sources of the metal. Although its ores occur widely in North America, Europe, and Africa, the cost of extracting the metal limits its commercial use. Beryllium may be prepared by electrolysis of its fused salts; it is prepared commercially by reduction of the fluoride with magnesium metal.

Beryllium was discovered in 1798 as the oxide beryllia by L. N. Vauquelin, a French chemist. Vauquelin analyzed beryl and emerald at the urging of R. J. Haüy, a French mineralogist, who had noted that their optical properties were identical. Beryllium was first isolated in 1828 independently by F. Wöhler in Germany and W. Bussy in France by fusing beryllium chloride with metallic potassium.

What effect might beryllium & compounds have on my health?

This depends on how much beryllium a person has been exposed to, for how long, and current state of health. Breathing high levels of beryllium dust or fumes may irritate the respiratory tract, causing chemical pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs). The lung damage may heal if breathing beryllium dust is stopped. Some people may become hypersensitive or allergic to beryllium on repeated or prolonged exposure to low levels of dust particles. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (cough, weight loss, weakness) and can occur long after exposure to small amounts of beryllium. Both the short-term, pneumonia-like disease and the chronic beryllium disease can cause death. Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause harmful effects in humans because very little beryllium can move from the stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Repeated or prolonged beryllium contact may cause skin sensitisation and, in the case of scraped or cut skin, rashes or ulcers. Inhalation of beryllium and its compounds is considered to have cancer-causing potential in humans. The effects of beryllium and its compounds are not well understood to date, and not all forms of beryllium are equally toxic. Worksafe Australia classifies beryllium as very toxic by inhalation and toxic if swallowed, and as a 'probable human carcinogen'. It can be irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin. There is the danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure.

How might beryllium & compounds enter my body?

Beryllium can be inhaled or ingested.

How might I be exposed to beryllium & compounds?

Because beryllium is most commonly used in high-tech devices where it is bound into electronic components, the risk of exposure in the domestic environment is negligible. Exposure to beryllium happens mostly in very specialised workplaces (e.g. mining or processing ores, alloy and chemical manufacturing with beryllium, machining or recycling metals containing beryllium, nuclear industries), and near some industry or hazardous waste sites. Very rarely, tobacco smoke containing beryllium from leaves high in beryllium may be inhaled.

What effect might beryllium & compounds have on the environment?

Acute toxic effects may include the death of animals, birds, or fish, and death or low growth rate in plants. Acute effects are seen two to four days after animals or plants come in contact with a toxic chemical substance. Beryllium is more toxic in soft water than in hard water. Beryllium and its compounds have high acute toxicity to aquatic life. No data are available on the short-term effects of beryllium on plants, birds, or land animals. Chronic toxic effects may include shortened lifespan, reproductive problems, lower fertility, and changes in appearance or behaviour. Beryllium and its compounds are considered to have high chronic toxicity to aquatic life. No data are available on the long-term effects of beryllium on plants, birds, or land animals. Fish do not build up beryllium in their bodies from the surrounding water to any great extent.

How might beryllium & compounds enter the environment?

Beryllium can be transported as particles released into the atmosphere or as dissolved compounds in natural waters.

Where in the environment do beryllium & compounds end up?

Beryllium is a naturally occurring element and low background levels in air, water and food are found everywhere. Beryllium can enter the environment from rocks, soil, and industrial emissions and waste. Airborne beryllium dust from the burning of coal and oil settles to the soil and water. Beryllium from rocks and soil can enter natural water systems, but because most beryllium compounds settle to the bottom as particles natural waters contain very little dissolved beryllium. However, higher concentrations of beryllium may be found in acidified waters. Soils tend to fix beryllium in water soluble compounds in forms that are not bioavailable to plants.

Common uses

Worldwide, industrial grade beryl is used as a feedstock for beryllium metal, alloys and oxide, all of which have many high-tech applications particularly in the nuclear, electronic and ceramic industries. Beryllium is a structural material in space technology, inertial guidance systems, additive to rocket fuels, moderator and reflector of neutrons in nuclear reactors (e.g. at ANSTO, Lucas Heights). Pure beryllium metal is used to make aircraft disc brakes, nuclear weapons and reactors, aircraft-satellite-space vehicle structures and instruments, X-ray transmission windows, missile parts, fuel containers, precision instruments, rocket propellants, navigational systems, heat shields, and mirrors. Beryllium alloys such as beryllium-copper are used in electrical connectors and relays, springs, precision instruments, aircraft engine parts, non-sparking tools, submarine cable housings and pivots, wheels, and pinions. More specifically, beryllium oxide is used in the manufacture of specialty electrical and high-technology ceramics, special glass, electronic heat sinks, electron tubes, electrical insulators, electronics components, microwave oven components, nuclear fuels and nuclear moderators, gyroscopes, military vehicle armour, rocket nozzles, and laser structural components. Beryllium chloride is used in refining beryllium ores and as a chemical reagent. Beryllium fluoride is used in refining beryllium and manufacturing beryllium alloys, and as a chemical reagent. Beryllium nitrate is used as a chemical reagent, a gas mantle hardener and in refining beryllium ores.

Beryllium and its compounds are mainly used in Australia in very small quantities in electronic equipment. The relevance of beryllium and its compounds to Australia 's environmental and public health stems not from its commercial use, but its presence in emissions from combustion of fossil fuels in, for example, coal-fired power stations.

Industry sources

Mining of ores containing beryllium can contribute to higher levels in air, soil and water, i.e. small quantities of beryl are produced as a by-product of feldspar mining at Broken Hill (NSW). Emissions to air can result from combustion of coal and oil in power plants.

Natural sources

Pure beryllium is not found in nature. Beryllium compounds can be found in mineral rocks, soil, coal, oil, and volcanic dust.

Transport sources

Beryllium emissions are normally not associated with mobile sources.

NPI rank

Approximately 400 substances were considered for inclusion on the NPI reporting list. A ranking and total hazard score was given based on health and environmental hazards and human and environmental exposure to the substance.

Beryllium & compounds was ranked as 76 out of 400. The total hazard score taking into account both human health and environmental criteria is 4.0.

On a health hazard rating of 0 - 3 beryllium & compounds registers 2.3. A score of 3 represents a very high hazard to health, 2 represents a medium hazard and 1 is harmful to health.

On an environmental rating of 0 - 3 beryllium & compounds registers 1.7. A score of 3 represents a very high hazard to the environment and 0 a negligible hazard.

Factors taken into account to obtain this ranking and these scores include the extent of the material's toxic or poisonous nature and/or its lack of toxicity, and the measure of its ability to remain active in the environment and whether it accumulates in living organisms. It does not take into account exposure to the substance. Environmental exposure is reflected in the NPI rank for this substance (see comparative data below). A substance that scores highly as an environmental hazard is oxides of nitrogen at 3.0 and one of the lower scores is carbon monoxide at 0.8. A substance that scores highly as a health hazard is arsenic at 2.3 and one of the lowest scores is ammonia at 1.0.

Chemical properties:
The two most important ores mined for the recovery of beryllium are beryl (CASR# 1302-52-9) and bertrandite (CASR# 12161-82-9). Very pure gem-quality beryl is better known as either aquamarine or emerald. Most of the beryllium ore mined is processed into beryllium oxide which is then reduced to beryllium metal or converted to various beryllium compounds. Water solubility of beryllium and its salts varies, with beryllium chloride, fluoride, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate all being soluble in water. Other compounds are either insoluble (e.g. beryl, beryllium oxide) or only slightly soluble. Beryllium metal exposed to air forms an oxide coating which protects it from further oxidation, similar to aluminium. Beryllium reacts with strong acids and strong bases, and forms shock sensitive mixtures with some chlorinated solvents such as carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene.

Beryllium is a brittle, steel gray metal found as a component of coal, oil, certain rock minerals, volcanic dust and soil. Elemental beryllium is used in a wide variety of applications. Exposure to beryllium most often occurs in mining, extraction, and in the processing of alloy metals containing beryllium. The metal is used in the aerospace, nuclear and manufacturing industries.

Beryllium disease is caused by inhaling beryllium particles, dust or fumes. Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss or loss of appetite, fever and sweating. Medical tests may reveal abnormal lung sounds, lung scars, decreased pulmonary function, granulomas (a nodular form of chronic inflammation) and an allergy to beryllium. The chronic form of the disease, Chronic Beryllium Disease (“CBD”) is caused by an allergic reaction to beryllium. Depending on the severity of CBD, symptoms of pulmonary hypertension or respiratory failure may be present. CBD is incurable, usually irreversible and may result in death. The acute form of the disease, involving skin disease with poor wound healing and rash or wart-like bumps, is rarely seen and usually not nearly as serious as CBD.

Exposure to beryllium can occur in the workplace. The following industries have used beryllium:



Metal working (pure beryllium, copper and aluminum alloys, jet brake pads, aerospace components)

Ceramic manufacturing (semi-conductor chips, ignition modules, crucibles, jet engine blades, rocket covers)

Electronics (transistors, heat sinks, x-ray windows)

Atomic energy industry (heat shields, nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons)

Laboratory work (research and development, metallurgy, chemistry)

Extraction (ore and scrap metal)

Dental work (alloys and crowns, bridges, dental plates)

Prior to 1951, beryllium was used in the fluorescent lamp industry

A single exposure is sufficient for a lifelong risk of developing the disease. Because CBD is caused by an allergic reaction to beryllium, very little exposure is required in order to cause the chronic form of the disease. Exposure to greater quantities of beryllium does not necessarily increase the chance that you will get CBD.

You may already have symptoms, which include fatigue, non-productive cough, gradually progressive shortness of breath, chest pain, anorexia, weight loss, fever, night sweats and joint and muscle pain. However, you may have none of these symptoms and still have the disease or be considered “beryllium sensitized.”

Blood BeLPT is a simple test which determines if you are allergic to beryllium and, therefore, beryllium sensitized. This test can establish a beryllium-specific immune response using the blood or lavage BeLPT or beryllium salt patch test plus pathologic changes consistent with CBD. While a history of beryllium exposure is helpful, it is not necessary to know how you got exposed. This is especially important given that seemingly trivial exposures to beryllium can cause significant disease. By using an immunologic criterion, patients who have little apparent history of beryllium exposure can be detected. Also, individuals may now be diagnosed with CBD at its early stages, sometimes prior to the appearance of clinical signs, symptoms, or radiographic (x-ray) or physiologic (lung function) abnormalities. Early detection may improve disease prognosis even though it remains incurable.

Yes. Scientific evidence has confirmed that beryllium is a human carcinogen and a number of large epidemiologic studies have shown an increased risk of lung cancer among those exposed to beryllium.

Whether you were exposed to beryllium in the workplace or simply by living near the industrial use of beryllium, you have important legal rights. Polluting the workplace and the general environment may be actionable if you have been harmed. Workers exposed in the workplace may have workers’ compensation rights as well as the ability to sue their employer and third parties for their injuries. Similarly, nearby residents and others in the community exposed to emissions of beryllium dust, fumes and particulate can sue the companies responsible for those emissions for money damages.

Assuming you are eligible for benefits under the Act, you must give up your right to sue the companies responsible for causing your chronic beryllium disease. Since settlements and awards from lawsuits in chronic beryllium diseases can far exceed the available government benefits, all workers with potential claims should consult an attorney before deciding what course of action to pursue. Only benefits for workers under the Act are available. Community residents living near beryllium plants can sue the plant operators for their injuries but not pursue benefits under the Act.

Beryllium is a hard gray metal that is extracted from the earth, refined and reduced to a very fine powder. It occurs as a chemical component of certain rocks (bertrandite and beryl), coal and oil, soil, and volcanic dust. Beryllium’s light weight, high tensile strength and ability to slow neutrons have made it useful for many purposes in many industries.

Common workplace forms of beryllium are beryllium oxide powder, beryllium ceramics and beryllium copper alloy (See Beryllium Chemical Backgrounder, National Safety Council). Pure beryllium metal is used in the manufacture of aircraft disc brakes, nuclear weapons and reactors, missile parts, heat shields, x–ray machine parts, mirrors and spacecraft. Beryllium oxide is used in ceramics for electronics and high–technology applications. Among the uses for beryllium alloys are electrical connectors, springs, precision instruments, aircraft engine parts, wheels and pinions.

Beryllium metal and metal alloys may be found in consumer products such as televisions, calculators, computers, special nonsparking tools and sports equipment. It also can be part of dental alloys and dental bridges.