"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."
|