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

3.1 Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program

3.1.1 DOE/NNSA Review of Beryllium Work Out of the Scope of the CBDPP

3.2 Exposure Reduction and Minimization Program

3.3 Standards

3.4 Engineering Controls

3.4.1 Exhaust Ventilation

3.4.2 HEPA Filtration

3.5 Administrative Controls

3.5.1 Population at Risk

3.5.2 Visitors and Other Ancillary Personnel

3.5.3 Hazard Assessments

3.5.4 Beryllium Inventories

3.5.5 Exposure Monitoring

3.5.6 Safety Documents

3.5.7 Beryllium Work Areas and Regulated Beryllium Work Areas

3.5.8 Labeling and Posting

3.5.9 Training

3.5.10 Medical Surveillance

3.5.11 Beryllium Registry

3.6 Personal Protective Equipment

3.6.1 Respiratory Protection

3.6.2 Other Personal Protective Equipment

3.7 Facilities and Equipment

3.8 Housekeeping

3.9 Shipment and Receipt of Potentially Beryllium-contaminated Items

3.10 Storage

3.11 Waste

3.11.1 Waste Handling

3.11.2 Wastewater Discharges

3.11.3 Waste Minimization

3.12 Emergency Response

3.13 Decontamination for Reuse, Disposal, or Excess

3.13.1 Equipment