Beryllium surface levels in a military ammunition plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Field W ; Fuortes L ; Leonard, Stephanie ; Ott D ; Sanderson, Wayne T.
• Description:
  This study evaluated the presence of beryllium surface contamination in a U.S. conventional munitions plant as an indicator of possible past beryllium airborne and skin exposure and used these measurements to classify job categories by potential level of exposure. Surface samples were collected from production and nonproduction areas of the plant and at regional industrial reference sites with no known history of beryllium use. Surface samples of premoistened wiping material were analyzed for beryllium mass content using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and results expressed as micrograms of beryllium per 100 square centimeters (micro g/100 cm(2)). Beryllium was detected in 87% of samples collected at the munitions plant and in 72% of the samples collected at regional reference sites. Two munitions plant samples from areas near sanders and grinders were above 3.0 micro g/100 cm(2) (U.S. Department of Energy surface contamination limit). The highest surface level found at the reference sites was 0.44 micro g/100 cm(2). Workers in areas where beryllium-containing alloy tools were sanded or ground, but not other work areas, may have been exposed to airborne beryllium concentrations above levels encountered in other industries where metal work is conducted. Surface sampling provided information useful for categorizing munitions plant jobs by level of past beryllium airborne and skin exposure and, subsequently, for identifying employees within exposure strata to be screened for beryllium sensitization. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Beryllium Dust Environmental Exposure Inhalation Exposure Men Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Skin Skin Absorption Women

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Dusts Airborne Particles Air Contamination Air Quality Author Keywords: Airborne Particles Beryllium Compounds Beryllium Disease Beryllium Poisoning Dust Analysis Dust Collection Dust Exposure Dust Inhalation Exposure Levels Exposure Limits Humans Inhalants Military Personnel Munitions Industry Munitions Workers Risk Factors Sampling Methods Sanding And Grinding Skin Absorption Skin Exposure Surface Sampling

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  475-481
• Volume:
  5
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040529
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2008 Jul; 5(7):475-481
• Contact Point Address:
  Wayne Sanderson, University of Iowa, Occupational and Environmental Health, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
• Email:
  waynesanderson@uiowa.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:54af894a1dc48a014ae86a3d71dddce93e07261b4200917016b979c34310f8aded2666de0c1c74a3968e070190e0cfb60bbb122454e857a4dd034369511fc16d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193346/cdc_193346_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 254.10 KB ]