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.

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.