Medical screening for chronic beryllium disease in Massachusetts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Pepper L ; Raleigh K
• Description:
  In this issue we are presenting a summary of an article on chronic beryllium disease written by Lew Pepper, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Occupational exposures to beryllium are of great concern as very low-level exposures can cause beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease. Today, exposure to beryllium occurs in aerospace, telecommunications, automotive, and electronics industries. Beryllium exposures also occur in operations in metal machine shops, and in alloy applications, such as gas drilling, jewelry, bicycle frames, and dental appliances. Many studies indicate that the current legal exposure limit is not adequate; therefore there is a great need for awareness, prevention and medical screening among those exposed(1). Under Dr. Pepper's direction, Boston University School of Public Health has received a contract to develop and implement a medical screening and surveillance program for former beryllium exposed workers in Worcester, Massachusetts. This bulletin takes a closer look at the industries targeted by this program, the health effects of workers exposed to beryllium, and the methods of diagnosing chronic beryllium disease. Beryllium disease is one of several occupational lung diseases that are reportable to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Beryllium, which has been used extensively in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons program, is a concern among current and historically exposed workers. Congress recently enacted the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act of 2000 to provide compensation benefits for DOE weapons workers who developed work-related illnesses due to radiation, beryllium and silica exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Beryllium Chemistry Hazardous Substances Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Beryllium-compounds Beryllium-disease Beryllium-poisoning Bronchial-asthma Chemical-analysis Chemical-factory-workers Chemical-industry-workers Chemical-manufacturing-industry Chemical-processing Disease-prevention Employee-exposure Health-care Health-hazards Occupational-diseases Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Surveillance-programs Work-environment Worker-health Workers

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• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042686
• Citation:
  SENSOR Occup Lung Dis Bull 2004 Jul; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, 250 Washington Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19880415
• Source Full Name:
  SENSOR Occupational Lung Disease Bulletin
• End Date:
  20050929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c826396be099990effdfc7c3408e24500f62c0cfe7b5074b103ac1ba87abe4a4b97e0675a76a53d14d3ad4606d7161c4ab2a6bde357574abcab13bd477586678
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194828/cdc_194828_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 215.22 KB ]