Unified Agenda
The OSHA Regulatory Agenda contains an entry related to beryllium.

Other Federal
Note: These are not OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from their originating organizations related to worker protection.
Department of Energy (DOE)
10 CFR Part 850 [400 KB PDF, 62 pages]. Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program; Final Rule. (1999, December 8).
10 CFR Part 850 Part II [342 KB PDF, 8 pages]. Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program; Final Rule Amendments. (2006, February 9).
Other Resources
Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program. US Department of Energy (DOE), (1999, December 8). Provides links to DOE policies, guidance, training regarding beryllium and a search feature of DOE resources through the responses to inquiries link.

Hazard Recognition

About 1-15% of all people occupationally-exposed to beryllium in air become sensitive to beryllium and may develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD), an irreversible and sometimes fatal scarring of the lungs [More...] Occupational exposure most often occurs in mining, extraction, and in the processing of alloy metals containing beryllium. The adverse health effects of beryllium exposure are caused by the body's immune system reacting with the metal, resulting in an allergic-type response. The following references aid in recognizing hazards and health effects associated with beryllium.

Public Health Statement for Beryllium. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), (2002, September). Provides exposure risks, exposure limits, and health effects of exposure to beryllium.
ToxFAQs - Beryllium. (2002, September). Answers the most frequently asked health questions about beryllium.
Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program. US Department of Energy (DOE), (1999, December 8). Provides links to DOE policies, guidance, and training regarding beryllium.
Preventing Adverse Health Effects from Exposure to Beryllium on the Job. OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin (HIB), (1999, September 2). Alerts employees working with beryllium about the hazards associated with their work. OSHA has recent information suggesting that the current permissible exposure limit (PEL) for beryllium in the workplace may not be adequate to prevent the occurrence of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) among exposed workers.
Beryllium Associated Workers - Other. Fermilab Environmental Safety and Health (ES&H). References Fermilab's ES&H manual and links to other beryllium related information.
Beryllium. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Safety and Health Topic. Provides links to sources of information on a variety of topics relating to beryllium.
NIOSH Criteria Document for Beryllium. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), (1977, August 19). Testimony to the US Department of Labor (DOL) on the effects of occupational exposure to beryllium and results of studies conducted by NIOSH.

Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD)
Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) occurs when people inhale beryllium dust or fume and can take anywhere from a few months to 30 years to develop. CBD is caused by an immune system reaction to beryllium metal, with symptoms such as persistent coughing, difficulty breathing upon physical exertion, fatigue, chest and joint pain, weight loss, and fevers.
Middleton, D.C. "Chronic beryllium disease: uncommon disease, less common diagnosis." Environmental Health Perspectives 106.12(1998). Discusses methods to diagnose chronic beryllium disease (CBD).
Newman, L.S., et al. "The Natural History of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease." Environmental Health Perspectives 104.S5(1996). Reviews what was known about the natural history of clinical chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in the era that preceded the use of immunologic markers, review data from recent studies of patients with beryllium sensitization and early disease, and summarize the methodology being used in ongoing longitudinal studies designed to address some of the questions listed above.

Acute Beryllium Disease (ABD)
Acute beryllium disease (ABD) rarely occurs in modern industry due to improved industrial protective measures designed to reduce exposure levels. ABD is caused by breathing in relatively high concentrations of beryllium in dust and metal fumes (>100 µg/m3). High level exposures may lead to death or respiratory illness similar to pneumonia or bronchitis. Symptoms associated with ABD include difficulty breathing, cough, and chest pain. These symptoms occur much more rapidly than those associated with chronic beryllium disease (CBD).
Lang, L. "Beryllium: A Chronic Problem." Environmental Health Perspectives 102.6-7(1994). Reviews the causes of acute beryllium disease (ABD).

Lung Cancer
Beryllium and beryllium compounds are known to be human carcinogens according to the most recent Report on Carcinogens (RoC). US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Public Health Services, National Toxicology Program (NTP). Provides a table of contents with links to sections of the report.
Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds [147 KB PDF, 3 pages]. Explains the carcinogenicity, properties, use, production, exposure, and regulations regarding beryllium.

Exposure Evaluation

Air, wipe, and bulk sampling techniques are used to measure occupational exposures to beryllium. The following references provide exposure limits and analytical methods used to evaluate beryllium hazards in the workplace.
Beryllium & beryllium compounds (as Be). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG), (1997, June). Offers general information including exposure limits, measurement methods, and respirator recommendations.
Beryllium compounds (as Be). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH), (1996, August). Contains acute toxicity data, NIOSH recommendations, and references.

Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4.

A bivalent element, beryllium is found naturally only combined with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl (aquamarine, emerald) and chrysoberyl.

The free element is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight brittle alkaline earth metal. It is primarily used as a hardening agent in alloys, notably beryllium copper. Structurally, beryllium's very low density (1.85 times that of water), high melting point (1287 °C), high temperature stability and low coefficient of thermal expansion, make it in many ways an ideal aerospace material, and it has been used in rocket nozzles and is a significant component of planned space telescopes.

Because of its relatively high transparency to X-rays and other ionizing radiation types, beryllium also has a number of uses as filters and windows for radiation and particle physics experiments.

Commercial use of beryllium metal presents technical challenges due to the toxicity (especially by inhalation) of beryllium-containing dusts.

Beryllium produces a direct corrosive effect to tissue, and can cause a chronic life-threatening allergic disease called berylliosis in susceptible persons.

Because it is not synthesized in stars, beryllium is a relatively rare element in both the Earth and the universe.