B.3.1 Temporary Reassignment

The LLNL Medical Director (or designee) may recommend to the individual, in a written medical opinion based on one or more positive Be-LPT results, CBD diagnosis, an examining physician's recommendation, or any other signs or symptoms that the Medical Director deems medically sufficient, that he or she be temporarily removed from beryllium exposure. When such a determination is made, the employee is offered temporary reassignment (pending a final medical determination) to a non-beryllium worker position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. The Medical Director shall provide the worker a copy of 10 CFR 850, its preamble, and other appropriate information regarding beryllium exposure in discussing the benefits of removal.

The worker may also be offered the option of continuing to work in the current position with beryllium. If the worker chooses to do so, he or she shall sign an acknowledgement of disclosure of health effects, and his or her participation in ongoing medical surveillance, as determined by the Medical Director, shall be mandatory. If a worker who has been confirmed positive for beryllium sensitivity chooses to be placed in an alternative assignment, LLNL management will use its best efforts, working with the worker's organization and with the Health Services and Human Resources Departments, to identify an alternative work assignment. If no temporary reassignment can be found, the worker shall maintain equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, as specified in 10 CFR 850.35, until a position becomes available or for 1 year, whichever comes first.

B.3.2 Permanent Reassignment

The Medical Director or designee shall make a recommendation to the individual, in writing, regarding permanent removal for individuals with beryllium-related conditions. If a final medical determination for permanent medical removal has been made, alternate placement shall be made in the same manner as temporary medical removal. If a position is not available, permanent medical removal protection benefits expire after 2 years. The worker shall also have the option of continuing in his or her original position. A worker who chooses to do so shall sign an acknowledgement of disclosure of health effects, and agreement to participate in ongoing medical surveillance, as determined by the Medical Director, shall be mandatory.

B.3.3 New Hires from Outside LLNL

New hires (i.e., accepted applicants) who have a confirmed positive sensitivity test have the option of accepting the beryllium assignment or having the employment offer withdrawn and applying for open, non-beryllium work positions through the LLNL employment process. If a new hire has a confirmed positive sensitivity test and decides to accept the beryllium work assignment, the applicant shall sign, prior to beginning the assignment, an acknowledgment form that the Medical Director has provided the worker a copy of 10 CFR 850 and other appropriate information regarding the health effects of beryllium exposure The signed form shall be included with his or her medical record. Participation in the medical surveillance program shall be mandatory.

B.3.4 Other LLNL or UC Employees

Internal LLNL transferees or UC employees who have a confirmed positive sensitivity test have the option of accepting the beryllium work assignment, remaining in the current position, or applying for another non-beryllium position within LLNL. If an internal LLNL transferee or UC employee assigned to a beryllium work area or regulated beryllium work area decides to continue in the beryllium work assignment, the employees shall sign, as a condition of continuation in the assignment, an acknowledgment form that the Medical Director has provided the worker, along with a copy of 10 CFR 850 and other appropriate information regarding the health effects of beryllium exposure. The signed form shall be included with his or her medical record. Participation in the medical surveillance program shall be mandatory.

B.4 NonLLNL and NonUC Employees

The safety of work done by subcontract workers shall be managed as required by Document 2.5, "Procured Services ES

B.5 Responsibilities

This section lists organizations' responsibilities regarding medical protection.

B.5.1 Health Services Department

Health Services Department is responsible for:

o Providing medical surveillance examinations.

o Providing results of medical examinations to workers,

o Recommending temporary or permanent removal, as appropriate, from beryllium work.

o Providing necessary information to affected workers so they can make an informed decision concerning reassignment (current employees) or employment (prospective new hires), if necessary.

B.5.2 Payroll Organizations

The payroll organization is responsible for ensuring that the requirements in this appendix are followed. The requirements apply whether an individual works for a short time or indefinitely in a beryllium work area or regulated beryllium work area. These requirements include ensuring:

o Medical surveillance exams are offered to workers.

o Information on beryllium hazards is provided to workers.

o Assisting in alternate placement, if appropriate.

B.5.3 ES

ES

B.5.4 Human Resources Department

The Human Resources Department is responsible for assisting program management in finding alternate work assignments.

Appendix C

Statistical Analysis of Beryllium Data

C.1 General

The use of a statistics-based sampling protocol to characterize worker exposures to airborne beryllium is required by 10 CFR 850, as is routine surface sampling to verify compliance with the housekeeping standard. The rule is performance based and does not prescribe statistical protocols. General guidance is provided in DOE G 440.1-7A, "Implementation Guide for use with 10 CFR 850, Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program," which states:

Sampling activities should include a sufficient number of samples to ensure at least a 95 percent confidence level that the results represent the sample population.

Although numerous publications about statistical data analysis and quality control are available, the following two references are widely used for industrial hygiene sampling:

* Nelson A. Leidel, Kenneth A. Busch, and Jeremiah R. Lynch, "Occupational Exposure Sampling Strategy Manual," U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Publication 77-173, January 1977.

* John R. Mulhausen and Joseph Damiano, "A Strategy for Assessing and Managing Occupational Exposures," 2nd Edition, AIHA Press, Fairfax, VA 1998.

The following guidance can be used for initial and periodic air sampling, for establishing and disestablishing regulated areas, and for routine surface sampling for housekeeping.

C.2 Suggested Protocol

The following is a suggested protocol:

1. Using the hazard assessment described in Section 3.5.3, identify:

* The similar exposure group [i.e., process, job, task, agent (i.e., beryllium) and specific population at risk].

* The appropriate standard for airborne exposure or surface contamination.

2. Conduct a sampling campaign.

1. Determine the number of samples to take.

2. Take the samples.

3. Determine the data distribution (e.g., normal or log normal) and calculate the appropriate descriptive statistics.

4. Compare the results with the appropriate standard.

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.