Beryllium is one of the lowest-density metals. It has a remarkable combination of properties found in no other metal. It has 6 times the specific stiffness of steel.

Beryllium has a very high melting point and it maintains useful mechanical properties up to much higher temperatures than most other metals, yet it is also prized for its excellent cryogenic properties. Beryllium combines high thermal conductivity with the highest specific heat of any metal for superior thermal diffusivity, making it extremely useful for dissipating thermal transients.

Beryllium has excellent damping characteristics. It is a low Z material, with the highest x-ray transparency of any engineering material. This fascinating metal has an extensive heritage in space structures, airborne, earth- and space-based optics, and the semiconductor, medical and nuclear industries.

Designers continue to specify beryllium due to its unmatched capabilities for medical, aerospace, defense, information technology, scientific, nuclear and other applications.

AlBeMet® and E Materials are engineered materials made principally of beryllium. AlBeMet® comes in two formulations, AlBeMet® 140 and AlBeMet® 162, with 40% and 62% beryllium by weight, respectively. Aluminum-beryllium was originally developed for the SR-71 aircraft in the 1960’s and dubbed “LockAlloy”. Aluminum-beryllium under the AlBeMet® trade name was reintroduced in the early 1990’s by Brush Wellman.

AlBeMet® is a metal matrix composite, consisting of separate phases of pure aluminum and pure beryllium. This gives AlBeMet® a synergistic combination of the toughness, ductility and machinability of aluminum, combined with all the great properties of beryllium.

E Materials are available as E20 and E60, with beryllium metal and 20% or 60% beryllium oxide (BeO) by volume, respectively. E Materials were designed to take advantage of the superior thermal dissipation capabilities of beryllium metal and beryllium oxide ceramic material for electronics heat sink applications. These materials can be selected according to their coefficient of thermal expansion to maximize their compatibility with the electronic substrate.

beryllium

More beryllium.

...and even more.

(bsymbolrÄ*l´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.

Hey simplex, remember the South Park episode where the kids travel to the Planetirium, only the guy working it couldn't say the "t", plane-irium.

This is the sound I want to make when I say beryllium. Something like, "welcome to the ber-llium thread"

Australia's QRSciences demonstrated another aviation security product using low-frequency radio waves to detect plastic explosives."With our technology we are actually looking at the chemical structure of the atom, ranging from different molecules of nitrogen, chlorine, beryllium, antimony, arsenic and others," said CEO Kevin Russeth."There is no easy way to detect a whole host of explosives. ... I think as time moves on, technologies will be married together to minimize the danger to the public and to secure facilities," said Russeth.The company is working with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to commercialize the device.

The Energy Department recently reversed 50 years of federal policy by declaring that workers injured or killed by weapons plant exposure should be compensated. The agency proposed a minimum lump sum payment of $100,000. The Senate approved a minimum of $200,000, plus medical care for workers suffering from beryllium disease, silicosis or radiation-caused cancers

Clara Harding of Paducah, Kentucky, offered the committee a medal that was presented to her by Secretary Richardson for her husband's service to the nation. "I would like to give this medal to you and ask you and your boss Henry Hyde to hold it for me until this legislation is passed, then you can give it back. If you don't pass it you can keep this medal and hang it on the wall to remind you that this bill was killed. You can call it the Joe Harding Memorial Legislation because it has been killed just like [the] DOE killed my husband." The Energy Department has said it does not know how many of the 600,000 people who worked at weapons plants since World War II have contracted beryllium diseases, silicosis or radiation-linked cancer.

Over time, inertial guidance systems for rockets have incorporated simpler, cheaper, lighter, and more reliable components, as well as concepts such as ring-laser gyros and strapdown technology in which there is no inertial platform required to maintain a fixed position in space. In contrast, the latest U.S. ICBM inertial guidance system is the Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere (AIRS), used on the Peacekeeper missile. It is probably the most accurate inertial measurement unit ever developed and manufactured. The inertial measurement units used on earlier ballistic missiles used an inertial platform mounted on a set of gimbaled axis frames. The AIRS, on the other hand, consists of a beryllium sphere floating in a fluorocarbon fluid within an outer shell, with no gimbals or bearings at all, housing highly accurate gyros and accelerometers. The AIRS is complex, difficult to manufacture, and very expensive.

Definition of Beryllium

Beryllium: A toxic metal found in ores containing other elements that is used in making metal alloys for nuclear reactors and the aerospace industry. Acute exposure to beryllium fumes can cause a severe, sometimes fatal pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs). Chronic overexposure to beryllium is more common and causes a diffuse inflammatory reaction in the lungs resulting in granulomas and fibrosis of the lungs and, in time, increasing shortness of breath. Beryllium poisoning is termed berylliosis.

Type: Term

Pronunciation: ber-il′ē-ŭm
Definitions:
1. A white metal element belonging to the alkaline earths; atomic no. 4., atomic wt. 9.012182.

beryllium granuloma

Type: Term
Definitions:
1. a sarcoid-like granulomatous reaction to exposure to inhaled beryllium, or to skin cuts by fluorescent lamp glass.

Schnozzlehttp://static.urbandictionary.com/thumbsup.gif3 up, 1 downhttp://static.urbandictionary.com/thumbsdown.gif"Schnozzle" refers to the word "nose", first utilized by Randall Patrick McMurphy, in 3566 B.C. in the latin form, Nozillius, later integrated into the hit british rock sensation, the farfignugens, as Nonozze. Most recently adapted by the late KC Baldwin, circa 2005, as the word we all know, use, and love, Schnozzle.Let me blow my Schnozzle on your beryllium, Shwoozee!

Element Buddy- Beryllium

Beryllium (symbol Be) is the fourth element of the periodic table, with an average atomic mass of approximately 9. It is not found in a pure form in nature, most commonly in the form beryllium aluminum silicate (Be3Al2Si6O18), a picture of which is below. Pure Beryllium is brittle and greyish in color, also shown below. It is a solid at room temperature.

Beryllium aluminum silicate Pure Beryllium

The word Beryllium comes from Greek. It was also called Glucinium, from the Greek word for sweet, glykys. Beryllium tastes sweet, but should not be eaten to verify this.

The Egyptians knew of both emerald and beryl, both forms of beryllium aluminum silicate. A French chemist, Nicholas Louis Vauquelin, determined Beryllium to be a distinct element in 1797, but it was not isolated until 1828, when the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler sucessfully isolated Beryllium from Beryllium Chloride.

The structure of a Beryllium atom is shown below.

Beryllium is in the second column of the periodic table, meaning that it has two valence electrons. It commonly combines with Aluminum, Silicon and Oxygen to form beryllium aluminum silicate, and also Flourine and Chlorine to form beryllium flouride and beryllium chloride, respectively.

Why do people want Beryllium, anyway?

Beryllium is one of the lightest metals, and it also has a very high melting point of 1287 degrees celsius. In case you're wondering how that relates to anything, at 1287 degrees celsius a person would be instantly incinerated. Ouch. It is also easily permeable by X-rays and is highly conductive of heat. What's not to love?

Generally, Beryllium is used to make the alloy Beryllium Copper, which is used in such handy devices as springs, electrical contacts, aircraft parts, missiles, spacecraft parts, brake discs on the space shuttle, and other myriad, useful and edible items. Well, not edible, but useful and diverse.

Other stuff about Beryllium

Beryllium is dangerous. It is known to be carcinogenic in humans. Curiously, beryllium tastes sweet but since it is toxic this is not a recommended way to test for the presence of beryllium. There are many safeguards for working with beryllium.

Beryllium Disease, or Berylliosis, resembles pneumonia or bronchitis and comes from overexposure to pure beryllium dust in the air. Most people do not develope this disease from exposure to compounds containing Beryllium. Berylliosis occurs in about 6% of people who are exposed to Beryllium. Development of the disease is determined by genetic susceptiblilty. In its early stages, Berylliosis does not require treatment. However, if left unnoticed, it can lead to severely debilitating coughs, shortness of breath and fatigue. In later stages, Beryllosis is treated with prednisone.

Beryllium can also be extremely hazardous when it enters the bloodstream. Fragments of Beryllium are highly dangerous in cuts and open sores and cause infection. If the wound heals around the fragment, it may have to be surgically removed.

How do you get Beryllium?

Since Beryllium is not found in its pure form in nature, several different ways have been devised to isolate it from various compounds. Beryllium can be isolated from beryl through a very long and complicated process involving several stages, which I don't fully understand. It can also be isolated from Beryllium Chloride (BeCL2) via electrolysis, or from Beryllium Flouride (BeFl2) by combination with magnesium.

Sources and Further reading

National Jewish Medical Center- Facts about Berylliosis

Beryllium- Los Alamos Laboratory Periodic Table

Beryllium- Hanford Site

WebElements- Beryllium Periodic Table- History

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,64537,00.html Beryllium is well-known in the metal-manufacturing industry for its strength and light weight. However, effectively protecting workers from beryllium-related illness remains largely a mystery. Government health officials are continuing to search for monitoring and safety standards that will prevent workers from contracting a potentially fatal disease.

Because it is lightweight and six times stronger than steel, beryllium is combined with other alloys and ceramics for use in jet fighters, satellites, nuclear weapons, computers, consumer electronics, medical equipment and even golf clubs.

"No comparable metal can deliver the same performance and reliability demanded of today's products and systems," according to beryllium-processing company Brush Wellman.

But a small percentage of workers exposed to dust or fumes created during the fabrication of products using beryllium develop an allergic reaction to the metal that can cause cancer and chronic beryllium disease, or CBD, a condition that clogs the lungs. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as a potential occupational carcinogen. The disease can affect workers' health in as little as three months, or may take longer than 20 years to develop.

In 1949, the Department of Energy set 2 micrograms per cubic meter as the maximum average of beryllium that workers can be exposed to during a workday, a regulation that was adopted as an industry standard by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety

Despite these safeguards, hundreds of workers have been diagnosed with CBD, and new cases are reported every year.

"I question if industrial-hygiene practice is adequate," said Mark Hoover, a senior research physical scientist at NIOSH who has been studying beryllium's effects for more than 20 years. Hoover said the DOE lowered the allowable amount of beryllium exposure in its facilities to 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter in 1998, and the private sector should follow its lead. "(Exposure) should be lowered to the smallest amount achievable."

According to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, between 2 and 6 percent of people exposed to beryllium will develop an allergic reaction known as beryllium sensitivity. The center's website states that sensitivity to beryllium appears to be genetically based, so while some workers may become ill, others will be unaffected.

Hoover said the most common method of detecting beryllium sensitivity is through the beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test, or BeLPT, which analyzes a blood sample to see its reaction to beryllium. The BeLPT is not commonly available at medical facilities, so blood samples are frequently shipped to laboratories such as the National Jewish Medical and Research Center or Biophage.

Rosemonde Mandeville, president of Biophage, said the test costs approximately $150 and results are available within a week. Mandeville said Biophage's primary clients are companies that offer the screening for their employees. "The first thing (for workers) to do is get tested once every 18 months," Mandeville said. Anyone who works where beryllium dust or vapors are present -- including office and janitorial workers -- is at risk for the disease.

If a worker tests positive, Mandeville said some companies will move workers to areas free of beryllium. Mandeville said workers who develop symptoms are frequently given prednisone, an anti-inflammatory steroid, to counteract coughing and breathing difficulties.

But beryllium-processing company Brush Wellman does not recommend or use blood tests to screen new workers at its plants. The "use of the BeLPT for medical screening is not recommended," stated a company representative, responding by fax to questions posed by Wired News. The company said the test "is highly variable and unreliable," citing U.S. military studies recommending that the blood test be used only after individuals develop symptoms of the disease.

Brush Wellman said workers might not want to be screened because a positive test has negative side effects. Workers who test positive have "perceived decreased health and reduction in work/employment options with potentially adverse social and economic consequences." The company does not reassign workers who test positive to prevent further exposure to beryllium because "There are no studies that suggest that individuals who have tested positive for beryllium sensitization are impacted by additional workplace exposure."

While the Department of Energy offers free screenings for any employee or contractor who worked at its facilities that processed beryllium, workers in the private sector may have to fend for themselves. A class-action lawsuit against Brush Wellman requests that the company pay for the blood tests for up to 7,000 contractors who worked at the company's Elmore, Ohio, facility from 1953 to 1999.

Attorney Andrew Lipton, who represents the plaintiffs -- who include iron workers, construction workers and pipe fitters -- said, "The workers had no idea of their risk." He added they are seeking free screening and medical monitoring. Lipton said the complaint does not ask for punitive damages; the workers only want to know if they have developed sensitivity to beryllium that could affect them later on.

The workers' original claim was denied and is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Thus far, 135 workers' compensation claims have been paid to people who contracted beryllium-related illnesses while working at Brush Wellman, according to Emily Hicks, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Hicks said the number of former Brush Wellman workers with the disease may actually be higher because the company became self-insured in 1996, so it no longer has to file claims through the state agency.

Lawsuits against beryllium-processing companies have been filed in other states including Arizona, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

These suits may only be the tip of the iceberg, according to NIOSH's Hoover, who compared the rise in claims to the flurry of asbestos lawsuits during the past few decades. "Because beryllium is widely used in many industries, such as aerospace and electronics, it is likely that there are cases that have not yet been discovered. It's important that general awareness be increased, and that exposure-control practices be understood and strictly adhered to," Hoover said.

OSHA is currently re-evaluating its beryllium safety regulations. The agency issued a public request for information about beryllium risks in November 2002, but has yet to take action on the feedback it has collected.

The Department of Energy is funding research into new technology for detecting beryllium in the workplace. The agency contracted with scientific equipment company Apogen to develop portable machines that can analyze air quality in close to real time.

According to Tom McKendrick, senior scientist at Apogen, beryllium monitoring ordinarily requires collecting an air sample on a filter, and then sending it to a lab for analysis. The Apogen system allows air-quality problems to be identified almost immediately so changes can be made quickly, he said. "They (DOE) know they have a problem that they have to address," McKendrick said.

Apogen has developed two prototype Spark I.D. Beryllium Monitor machines for the DOE, but McKendrick is not sure if they will ever be sold commercially. "It's not a large market, because industry is not aware of the risk (of beryllium exposure)."

In March 2005, Biophage's Mandeville and researchers from around the world will gather to share the latest prevention and treatment techniques at the first International Beryllium Research Conference in Montreal. The United States is the world's leading producer of beryllium at 100 metric tons, followed by Russia and China, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (PDF).

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Goals

1.2 Applicability

2.0 Hazards

2.1 Acute Beryllium Disease

2.2 Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease

2.3 Skin and Implantation

2.4 Cancer

3.0 Controls