Beryllium exposure and chronic beryllium disease

Details

• Personal Author:
  Infante PS ; Newman, Lee S.
• Description:
  In a study in mid-2003, E Fireman and colleagues found that 6% of patients labelled as having sarcoidosis actually had chronic beryllium disease. This result highlights an ongoing problem in industry and medical practice. The proliferation of industrial uses of beryllium is resulting in an unrecognised epidemic of chronic beryllium disease, as evidenced by many epidemiological studies over the past decade. Occupational exposure to beryllium occurs in aerospace, nuclear, military, automotive, electronics, and telecommunications industries, in operations in metal machine shops, and in alloy applications, such as tubing for oil and gas drilling, tools and dies, jewellery, bicycle frames, and dental appliances. Beryllium is most often used as an alloy with copper, aluminum, magnesium, or nickel; the beryllium content and its attendant hazards may not be obvious to workers generating dust and fumes. Recycling of electronics, computers, and scrap alloy to recover copper also results in beryllium exposure and disease to an unknown number of workers, many of whom are unaware of the risks. Contemporary cases of chronic beryllium disease have been reported from the USA, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Japan, and Russia. Estimates of the number of exposed workers in the USA alone currently range from 200,000 to 800,000. By contrast, an estimated 30,000 US workers are thought to have been exposed to beryllium in the 1970s. Since the 1940s, beryllium has been known to cause chronic beryllium disease, a debilitating and potentially fatal granulomatous disease that mainly affects the lungs. In 1949, the US Atomic Energy Commission established permissible exposure limits (PELs) that were applicable to their workers. Similar limits were adopted for US workers in general industry beginning in 1971. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) PELs for beryllium are currently: 2 ug per cubic metre of air (ug/m3) as an 8-h time-weighted-average (TWA); 5ug/m3 as a ceiling limit not to be exceeded for more than 30 min at a time; and 25 ug/m3 as a maximum peak limit never to be exceeded. Many other countries have 8-h time-weighted-averages PELs for beryllium of 1-2 ug/m3.1 [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Dust Lung Lung Diseases Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Recycling Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Aerospace Industry Aerospace Workers Automotive Industry Berylliosis Beryllium Beryllium Disease Electronics Industry Lung Disease Lung Disorders Machine Shop Workers Machinists Metal Alloys Metal Compounds Metal Dusts Metal Fumes Metal Workers Metalworking Industry Military Personnel Respiratory Diseases Respiratory System Disorders Telecommunication Industry

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• ISSN:
  0140-6736
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  415-416
• Volume:
  363
• Issue:
  9407
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047750
• Citation:
  Lancet 2004 Feb; 363(9407):415-416
• Contact Point Address:
  Peter F. Infante, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
• Email:
  pinfante@starpower.net
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  National Jewish Medical and Research Center
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990701
• Source Full Name:
  The Lancet
• End Date:
  20030630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d9614b457e9bd8562e24eea0c2028ec0d4eb6df836b2dc06e97ec4e39c47221f9980f5e683c758eba35c1f475b2f0ac51cef8054e8d186f865084f9bd098636a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202741/cdc_202741_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 411.10 KB ]