Process-Related Risk of Beryllium Sensitization and Disease in a Copper-Beryllium Alloy Facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berakis MT ; Deubner, David C. ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Kent MS ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; McCawley M ; Rossman MD ; Schuler, Christine R.
• Description:
  Background: Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), which primarily affects the lungs, occurs in sensitized beryllium-exposed individuals. At a copper-beryllium alloy strip and wire finishing facility we performed a cross-sectional survey to examine prevalences of beryllium sensitization and CBD, and relationships between sensitization and CBD and work areas/processes. Methods: Current employees (185) were offered beryllium lymphocyte proliferation testing (BeLPT) for sensitization, clinical evaluation for CBD (if sensitized), and questionnaires. We obtained historical airborne beryllium measurements. Results: Participation was 83%. Prevalences of sensitization and CBD were 7% (10/153) and 4% (6/153), respectively; this included employees with abnormal BeLPTs from two laboratories, four diagnosed with CBD during the survey, and one each diagnosed preceding and following the survey. Potential BeLPT laboratory problems were noted; one laboratory was twice as likely to have reported an abnormal result (P < 0.05, all tests), and five times as likely to have reported a borderline or uninterpretable result (P < 0.05, first blood draw and all tests). CBD risk was highest in rod and wire production (P < 0. 05), where air levels were highest. Conclusions: Sensitization and CBD were associated with an area in which beryllium air levels exceeded 0.2 mug/m(3), and not with areas where this level was rarely exceeded. Employees at this copper-beryllium alloy facility had similar prevalences of sensitization and CBD as workers at facilities with higher beryllium air levels. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Beryllium Copper Epidemiology Hypersensitivity Lung Diseases Metals Metals, Heavy Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Poisoning Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Beryllium Beryllium-compounds Beryllium-disease Beryllium Sensitization Chronic Beryllium Disease Copper-alloys Copper-beryllium Alloy Exposure-levels Heavy-metal-poisoning Heavy-metals Lung-disease Occupational-exposure Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Sensitization Statistical-analysis Workers

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania ; 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:
  195-205
• Volume:
  47
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026269
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2005 Mar; 47(3):195-205
• Contact Point Address:
  Christine R. Schuler, NIOSH/DRDS/FSB, 1095 Willowdale Road, MS 2800, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  cschuler@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3078ec5d13abd0fdff61edb55b7f12534e3ffb059035bf74657533deb36da51efa2dcb28ede69f561c2115b428f53db9356abf161ae23c4e5c067469799a36fe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197250/cdc_197250_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.79 KB ]