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Acute beryllium disease is caused by dust or fumes of soluble beryllium salts (such as BeF2 or BeSO4), which are intermediaries in the extraction of beryllium hydroxide and the production of beryllium metal and oxide. This disease occurred almost exclusively among workers in such processes and in the production of phosphors for fluorescent lights in the 1930s and 1940s. Unlike CBD, acute beryllium disease is a chemical pneumonitis whose severity is determined by the magnitude of exposure. Acute beryllium disease is generally reversible.
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