Beryllium bombshell

Imagine a regulation size football field totally covered with six feet of dust. Now imagine an airborne metallic particle the size of the point of a lead pencil floating somewhere amid the dust. That particle is equivalent to the currently accepted exposure limit for beryllium — 2 micrograms of metal per cubic metre — according to Dr. Guy Perrault of Quebec's Institut de recherche Robert-Sauve en Sante et en Sécurité du travail (IRSST).

Unfortunately, even that exposure limit may be too high to protect workers from contracting berylliosis, a potentially deadly lung disease. Continual exposure to levels greater than 2 mcg/m3 of beryllium (and in some reported cases even less than that) can cause the disease, which is also known as chronic beryllium disease (CBD).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the U.S. warns that it is unsafe for employees to be exposed to more than this amount in an eight-hour time weighted average period, or to more than five micrograms per cubic metre of air for more than 30 minutes. No employee should ever be exposed to more than 25 micrograms per cubic metre for any length of time.

To put this in perspective, OSHA compares the dimensions of 2 mcg/m3 to a piece of material roughly the size of child's marble, pulverized and dispersed into an area one mile by one mile by six feet.

Toxic marvel

Beryllium is a silver gray metallic element that occurs naturally in about 30 minerals. It is emitted into the air and water by erosion and the burning of coal and oil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has measured beryllium in the air from these natural processes at 0.03 nanograms/m3 (a nanogram is one billionth of a gram).

The metal was first discovered in 1798 but did not become widely used in industry until the 1940s when it was used as a pure metal, mixed with other metals to form alloys, processed to salts that dissolve in water and processed to form oxides and ceramic materials. What makes this mineral useful is the fact that it is lighter than aluminum but stiffer than steel.

It can withstand great forces before bending. Because of its very high melting point (1285°C), it is able to hold its shape over a wide temperature range. It also has the ability to absorb high amounts of heat; one pound of beryllium will absorb as much heat as five pounds of copper. It is nonmagnetic, resists corrosion, is highly permeable to X-rays and can be machined to close tolerances.

Despite its many uses beryllium has one major drawback. It is such a significant workplace hazard that U.S. and Canadian officials admit that the present limit of 2 mcg/m3 is probably still too high. According to the OSHA published warnings and information on beryllium, the American Conference on Governmental Industrial Hygienists has put forth a limit of 0.2 mc/m3 averaged over an eight-hour work shift as being more appropriate.

Families of workers may also be at risk. In the late 1940s, 11 deaths from non-occupational CBD were uncovered in the vicinity of the Lorain, Ohio beryllium plant. One of the victims was a homemaker whose husband worked at the plant, was exposed to the dust and brought his work clothes home to be laundered by his wife.

The history of beryllium was the subject of a six part series in 1999 by the Toledo Blade newspaper. After almost two years of investigations, they published their series entitled "Deadly Alliance — How Government and Industry Chose Weapons Over Workers." The series won the Poe Award for journalism from the White House Correspondents Association in 2000 and the full series is available online at: http://www. medill.northwestern.edu/ whca/2000poe.html

Beryllium at war

One of the earliest industries to recognize beryllium as a problem was the fluorescent light sector, where many workers in the late 1940s developed what was originally thought to be either tuberculosis or sarcoidoses. Zinc beryllium silicate was part of the phosphors in these lights until it was banned in 1949.

Unfortunately, because beryllium was crucial for the manufacture of nuclear weapons, it got caught up in the cold war paranoia of the 1940s and 1950s. Attempts to develop standards and protection for workers were seen as potential impediments to defending the U.S. against the Soviets. The major user of beryllium right after World War II and into the 1950s was the Atomic Energy Commission. Today it is still used in the making of atomic weapons, but it is also used in metal working, ceramic manufacturing, electronic applications, laboratory work, extraction, dental alloys and sporting goods. Although beryllium was recognized as toxic in 1949, the Atomic Energy Commission set limits at 2 mcg/m3. Prior to this, monitoring revealed that it was not uncommon for workers to be exposed to 110 to 43,300 mcg/m3. Scientists on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb also developed the disease. One of them, Dr. Herbert Anderson, suffered for years from the effects until his death in 1988. Another was Dr. Eugene Gardner who died in 1950 at the age of 37 but who continued to work even while in an oxygen tent.

By 1975, OSHA suggested reducing the exposure limits from 2 to 1, but this met with considerable opposition from industry officials and weapons experts. James Schlesinger, the Secretary of Energy, warned that the plan might drive firms out of business and reduce the supplies needed for bombs. The plan was delayed pending a scientific review. That study upheld the concerns over toxicity, but the proposals were shelved anyway.

According to the Blade and the recently disclosed government documents, this was based on the fact that the Cabot Corporation which owned a beryllium plant outside Hazleton, PA, shut down the plant. The only beryllium facility left in the U.S. was Brush Wellman in Ohio. The plant promised to continue supplying beryllium for weapons if, among other things, the government persuaded OSHA to drop its safety plan.

And that is why an Internet search on beryllium turns up all sorts of U.S. law firms soliciting clients.

Recent developments

In response to the dangers from very limited exposure, the severity of the disease, the growing use of beryllium in industry and a history in the U.S. described as "a deadly alliance" between government and industry, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) in Québec has launched an aggressive campaign to protect its workers from beryllium exposure. Ontario issued an alert to industry in 2001 even though there have been no reported problems in the province.

Gordon Perrault, the chief inspector, says that the CSST is attempting to identify which companies use beryllium among the non ferrous foundries, aeronautical firms, machining and milling plants, and waste processing and recycling firms.

Initially, the CSST surveyed 2800 firms and sent safety information to those that indicated they used beryllium. Next, they visited 125 foundries, took air samples, and checked surfaces. The results of this first survey are not yet available. Once the evaluations in this first phase are completed, the CSST will inspect the aeronautical industry and follow other sectors that use beryllium. When necessary, blood samples will be taken from exposed workers and, says Perrault, the existence of a Montreal lab will make that process faster and easier. Blood must be received by the lab within 48 hours of being drawn.

Everyone agrees that the present limit of 2 mcg/m3 is probably too high and that it is possible to develop CBD at levels below this. OSHA wanted to reduce the level to 1 in the Œ70s. The American Conference on Governmental Industrial Hygienists suggested that it be lowered to 0.2mcg/m3 in 1999. All agencies recommend to employers that they ensure exposure levels be less than what is currently legislated. Why, then, has the legislation not been changed?

According to Perrault, the scientific documentation demonstrating that CBD could be acquired from exposure levels below the regulated limit was not published until 2001. Now that the facts are definitively known, regulatory agencies are working towards a lower limit but these changes, he says, take time to develop and implement.

Dr. Barry Lubeck, a senior policy analyst on legislation at the Ontario Ministry of Labour, says there is still disagreement on what a logical limit should be and that whatever limit is adopted should be enforceable, measurable, and make sense economically. More than one study is needed. Most jurisdictions are monitoring beryllium use as they all recognize that toxicity is a serious problem.

In 1999, OSHA rejected a petition from a number of applicants to issue an emergency temporary standard but announced its intent to work on a new standard. OSHA qualified this, however, by saying it needed "a substantial amount of information on beryllium's toxicity, risks, and patterns of use" before getting started on the standard.

One can only wonder what basis they used for wanting to lower the limit from 2 to 1 in 1975, whether that rationale and studies that were presumably done still exist, and why they have to start the research process all over again.

What beryllium is used for

• Windshield frames for high speed planes and space vehicles
• Airplane and space shuttle brakes
• Satellite mirrors and telescopes
• Internal guidance systems and gyroscopes
• Neutron moderator and reflectors in nuclear reactors
• X-ray windows
• Nuclear weapons

• Nuclear reactors
• Glass manufacture
• Catalysts for chemical reactions

• Springs, switches, relays, in cars, computers, radar and other equipment
• Non-sparking tools for home and industrial uses
• Molds to make metal, glass and plastic items
• Golf clubs and bicycle frames
• Dental bridges

• Automobile airbags
• Fighter planes, helicopters and missile systems

• Electrical ignition systems
• Microwave ovens

Tips for reducing beryllium exposure

• Never eat, drink or smoke in beryllium areas;
• Wash thoroughly before eating, smoking or putting on makeup;
• Use double change rooms (one for work clothes and one for street clothes);
• Use clean work clothes before coming into beryllium areas;
• Keep work clothes as clean as possible;
• Wear gloves;
• Wipe off feet before leaving the area and use decontamination methods;
• Put work clothes in labeled and covered bins;
• Never wear work clothes or shoes home after being in beryllium areas; and
• Take a shower and put on street clothes before leaving work.

Symptoms and treatment of chronic beryllium disease (CBD)

A lag in knowledge about CBD may be attributed to the etiology and nature of the disease itself. CBD is mainly a lung disease (it is also a carcinogen) but it can also affect the lymph nodes, skin, spleen, liver, kidneys and heart. It has a very long latency period estimated to be between 10-15 years on average, and only affects people who have become sensitized to it after exposure. This is similar to developing an allergy.

Because of this long latency period (of up to 30 years in some reported cases) and the fact that CBD mainly affects the lungs, it is often missed and mistakenly diagnosed as sarcoidosis or some other lung disorder.

• Persistent coughing
• Shortness of breath with exercise
• Fatigue
• Chest and joint pain
• Blood in the sputum
• Rapid heart rate
• Loss of appetite
• Fevers and night sweats

Although the disease is not curable, the symptoms can be treated. The standard treatment used is prednisone, a coricosteroid drug. This can slow the progression of the disease but, unfortunately, high doses of prednisone can produce numerous side effects.

Prevention and early detection are key. People only develop CBD after being exposed and developing a sensitivity to beryllium. That sensitivity can be found in the blood, and Biophage Pharma, a Montreal lab, is presently the only lab in Canada that can conduct these blood tests. If a worker does test positive, then he or she can and should be removed from any further exposure to beryllium.

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