Dissolution of Finely Divided Single-Constituent and Multiconstituent Beryllium Aerosol Materials Associated with Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease

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• Personal Author:
  Breysse P ; Day G ; Hoover M ; Scripsick R ; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B.
• Description:
  Elevated prevalences of sensitization and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) have been observed in workers exposed to dusts, fumes, and particles of copper-beryllium at airborne concentrations of beryllium below the current permissible limit of 2 ug/m3. Particle dissolution within lung macrophage phagolysosomes is thought to be an important source of dissolved beryllium for input to the cell-mediated immune reaction associated with development of beryllium sensitization and CBD. We used a phagolysosomal simulant fluid in a static dissolution technique to measure the simultaneous dissolution rates of copper and beryllium from a copper oxide-beryllium oxide (CuO/BeO) fume aerosol material and the dissolution rate of beryllium from a finished product BeO powder. Observed dissolution rates were normalized to values of specific surface area (SSA) to calculate a chemical dissolution rate constant (k) for each material. Dissolution of beryllium from BeO powder was biphasic (9% of total dissolved was in the initial rapid phase and the remaining 91% was in the slower long-term phase); kBe values were 8 × 10-7 g/(cm2·day) (initial phase) and 7 × 10-9 g/(cm2·day) (long-term phase). Dissolution of copper from the fume aerosol material was rapid, consisting of a single phase (100% dissolved in 4.5 days); kCu = 8 × 10-7 g/(cm2·day). Complete dissolution of copper from the fume aerosol exposed inclusions of BeO, which exhibited biphasic dissolution behavior. The measured value of SSA for the fume differed from the SSA that governed beryllium dissolution, which precludes determination of kBe. The BeO inclusions would have higher SSA than measured for the total particle sample and beryllium would therefore dissolve at a proportionally higher rate. In summary, a BeO-containing fume aerosol generated during the manufacture of copper-beryllium alloy has bioavailability properties similar to single-constituent BeO powder, which may help to explain the risk of beryllium sensitization and CBD for workers who manufacture copper-beryllium alloys. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Beryllium Copper Dust Environmental Monitoring Hypersensitivity Immune System Metals Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Aerosol-particles Beryllium-compounds Beryllium-disease Copper-alloys Copper-compounds Copper-dust Copper-fumes Diseases Dust-exposure Dust-particles Dusts Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Fumes Fumigants Immune-reaction Occupational-diseases Occupational-exposure Sensitization Worker-health Workers

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Maryland ; New Mexico ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  52
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030285
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 13-16, 2006, Chicago, Illinois. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2006 May; :52
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 13-16, 2006, Chicago, Illinois
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cab6f15302b0cb12f1cd629678ebb77571537ec7ccf0fb05306bf884b72bcaa8f82c1a68c65bc7b2d0e1118b579476d78b3966ab001bb461f04447b0e2334398
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190997/cdc_190997_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 299.74 KB ]