As a member of the general public, you may be exposed to higher than normal levels of beryllium if you live near an industry that processes or uses beryllium. People who live near hazardous landfill sites that contain high concentrations of beryllium may also be exposed to higher than normal levels of beryllium. Beryllium, as a chemical component, occurs naturally in tobaccos and can be inhaled from cigarette smoke. People who smoke may breathe considerably more beryllium than people who do not smoke.

Beryllium metal and metal alloys may be found in consumer products such as electronic devices (e.g., televisions, calculators, and personal computers) and special nonsparking tools.

Metabolism

Beryllium can enter your body if you breathe air, eat food, or drink water containing it. Beryllium will not enter your body from skin contact with the metal unless the skin is scraped or cut and beryllium particles become imbedded in the wound. Only a small amount of beryllium may enter your body if your skin comes into contact with a beryllium salt dissolved in water. When you breathe air containing beryllium, beryllium particles can be deposited in the lungs. The beryllium that you breathe in slowly dissolves in the lungs and moves slowly into the bloodstream. Some of the beryllium deposited in the lungs can be moved to the mouth and then swallowed; the rest can remain in your lungs for a long time. If you eat food or drink water that contains beryllium, less than 1% passes from your stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Therefore, most of the beryllium that you swallow leaves your body through the feces without entering the bloodstream. The small amount of beryllium that moves from the lungs, stomach, and intestines into the bloodstream is carried by the blood to the kidneys. Beryllium leaves the kidneys by the urine. Some beryllium can also be carried by the blood to the liver and bones where it may remain for long periods of time. If you swallow beryllium, beryllium leaves the body in a few days. However, if you inhale beryllium, it may take months to years before your body rids itself of beryllium. This is because it takes a long time before all the beryllium in the lungs enters the bloodstream or is swallowed.

Health Effects

Beryllium is a metal that can be harmful when you breathe it. The effects depend on how much and how long you are exposed to it. When you breathe it in, beryllium can damage your lungs. When you breathe in large amounts of soluble beryllium compounds, the lung damage resembles pneumonia with reddening and swelling of the lungs. This condition is called acute beryllium disease. In this case, if you stop breathing air with beryllium in it, the lung damage may heal. Some people can become sensitive to beryllium. This is known as hypersensitivity or allergy. If you become sensitive (allergic) to beryllium, you will develop an immune or inflammatory reaction to amounts of beryllium that do not cause effects in people who are not sensitive to beryllium. When this occurs, white cells accumulate around the beryllium and form a chronic inflammatory reaction called granulomas (granulomas are not tumors). This condition is called chronic beryllium disease. This disease can occur long after exposure to small amounts of either the soluble or the insoluble forms of beryllium. If you have this disease you may feel weak, tired, and have difficulty breathing.

Although the soluble and insoluble forms of beryllium can cause chronic beryllium disease, workers breathing air containing beryllium at less than 0.002 milligrams (mg) (1 mg = 1 thousandth of a gram of beryllium) in a cubic meter (mg/m3) (a level that government rules permit in the workplace) will probably not develop lung damage as a result of exposure. Both the short-term, pneumonia-like disease and the chronic beryllium disease can be fatal. Long periods of exposure to beryllium have been reported to cause cancer in laboratory animals, but some of these studies are not reliable. Some studies of workers reported an increased risk of lung cancer, but these studies are not conclusive, and new studies are being performed. The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that beryllium and certain beryllium compounds may reasonably be anticipated to be carcinogens. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that beryllium and beryllium compounds are probably carcinogenic to humans. The EPA has determined that beryllium is a probable human carcinogen. We have no evidence that breathing air, eating food, or drinking water that contains beryllium or having skin contact with beryllium has any effects on reproduction or causes birth defects in humans or animals. Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause effects in humans because very little beryllium can move from the stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Beryllium contact with skin that has been scraped or cut can cause rashes or ulcers. If you have developed an allergy to beryllium and have skin contact with it, you can get granulomas on the skin. These skin granulomas appear as a rash or as nodules. The skin granulomas are formed in the same way that lung granulomas are formed in sensitive people.

Information excerpted from

Toxicological Profile for Beryllium April 1993 Update Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry United States Public Health Service

Synonyms BERYLLIUM-METALLIC; BERYLLIUM-9; GLUCINIUM; GLUCINUM; Beryllium-dust; Beryllium,-metal-powder

Analytical Methods 200.7 - 200.8 - 6010 - 6020

Molecular Formula Be

Synopsis

Beryllium - (Gr. beryllos.' beryl; also called Glucinium or Glucinum, Gr. glykys, sweet), Be; at. wt. 9.012182; at no. 4; m.p. 1287'C; b.p. 2471'C; sp. cyr. 1.948 (20'C): valence 2. Discovered as the oxide by Vauquelin in beryl and in emeralds in 1798. The metal was isolated in 1828 by Wobler and by Bussy independently by the action of potassium on beryllium chloride. Beryllium is found in some 30 mineral species, the most important of which are bertrandite, beryl, chrysoberyl, and phenacite. Aquamarine and emerald are precious forms of beryl. Beryl (3BeO - Al2O3-6SiO2) and bertrandite (4BeO - 2SiO2- H2O) are the most important commercial sources of the element and its compounds. Most of the metal is now prepared by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal. Beryllium metal did not become readily available to industry until 1957. The metal, steel gray in color, has many desirable properties. It is one of the lightest of all metals, and has one of the highest melting points of the light metals. Its modulus of elasticity is about one third greater than that of steel. It resists attack by concentrated nitric acid, has excellent thermal conductivity, and is nonmagnetic. It has a high permeability to X-rays, and when bombarded by alpha particles, as from radium or polonium, neutrons are produced in the ratio of about 30 neutrons/million alpha particles. At ordinary temperatures beryllium resists oxidation in air, although its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide. Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in producing beryllium copper which is extensively used for springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes, and nonsparking tools. It has found application as a structural material for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and communication satellites. It is being used in the windshield , brake discs, support beams, and other structural components of the space shuttle. Because beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays, ultra-thin Be-foil is finding use in X-ray lithography for reproduction of microminiature integrated circuits. Natural beryllium is made of 9Be and is stable. Eight other radioactive isotopes are known. Beryllium is used in nuclear reactors as a reflector or moderator for it has a low thermal neutron absorption cross section. It is used in gyroscopes, computerparts and instruments where flatness and stiffness, and dimensional stability are required. The oxide has a very high melting point and is also used in nuclear work and ceramic applications. Beryllium and its salts are toxic and should be handled with the greatest of care. Beryllium and its compounds should not be tasted to verify the sweetish nature of beryllium (as did early experimenters). The metal, its alloys, and its salts can be handled safely if certain work codes are observed, but no attempt should be made to work with beryllium before becoming familiar with proper safeguards. Beryllium metal is available at a cost of about $2.50/o, (99.5% pure).

Use SOURCE OF NEUTRONS WHEN BOMBARDED WITH ALPHA PARTICLES, YIELDS ABOUT 30 NEUTRONS PER MILLION ALPHA PARTICLES: HARDENING OF COPPER; MFR OF NONSPARKING ALLOY FOR TOOLS; MFR OF LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOYS /BERYL/ SPACE OPTICS, MISSILE FUEL AND SPACE VEHICLES X-RAY WINDOW COMPONENT OF ALLOYS-EG, WITH COPPER, NEUTRON MODERATOR IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS