Inhalation beryllium

Unfortunately, beryllium is one of the most toxic metals known. Whilst not toxic by ingestion, beryllium inhalation can cause an acute tracheobronchitis/pneumo-nia at high concentrations, and even at very low concentrations a chronic hypersensitivity granulomatosis may develop. Beryllium can also cause toxic and hypersensitive reactions in the skin. 

Inhalation of certain fine dusts may constitute a health hazard. Eor example, exposure to siUca, asbestos, and beryllium oxide dusts over a period of time results ki the potential risk of lung disease. OSHA regulations specify the allowable levels of exposure to kigestible and respkable materials. Material Safety Data Sheets, OSHA form 20, available from manufacturers, provide information about hazards, precautions, and storage pertinent to specific refractory products. 

Beryllium, beryllium-containing aUoys, and beryUium oxide ceramic in soHd or massive form present no hazard whatsoever (31). SoHd shapes may be safely handled with bare hands (32) however, care must be taken in the fabrication and processing of beryUium products to avoid inhalation of airborne beryUium particulate matter such as dusts, mists, or fumes in excess of the prescribed workplace exposure limits. Inhalation of fine airborne beryUium may cause chronic beryUium disease, a serious lung disease in certain sensitive individuals. However, the vast majority of people, perhaps as many as 99%, do not react to beryUium exposure at any level (33). The biomedical and environmental aspects of beryUium have been summarized (34). 

Fire Hazards - Flash Point Not pertinent. This is a combustible solid Flammable Limits in Air (%) Not pertinent Fire Extinguishing Agents Graphite, sand, or any other inert dry powder Fire Extinguishing Agents Not To Be Used Water Special Hazards of Combustion Products Combustion results in beryllium oxide fumes whieh are toxic to inhalation Behavior in Fire Powder may form explosive mixture in air Ignition Temperature (deg. F) Not pertinent Electrical Hazard Not pertinent Burning Rate Not pertinent. 

Beryllium and its compounds are toxic and care should be taken to avoid inhalation of dusts or contact with eyes and skin. 

Greater use of beryllium will require the consideration of its role in the environment, and a knowledge of speciation in naturally occurring waters will be needed. Further studies are needed to identify the toxicity hazards other than from the inhalation of beryllium-containing dust. 

Although health and safety (317) and biochemical aspects (17) of beryllium are beyond the scope of this review, some reference must be made to toxicity hazards. Above all, inhalation of any beryllium-... 

Program faculty members are developing an automated cascade impactor for collection of task-based size distribution data of beryllium-containing aerosols. Based on the size distribution, the fraction of beryllium-containing aerosol penetrating a respirator and the inhalation and deposition in different regions of the lungs can be estimated. 

In the first part of the twentieth century, beryhium was used as coating inside fluorescent electric hght tubes, but proved carcinogenic (causes cancer) when broken tubes produced beryllium dust that was inhaled. Because of this potential to cause cancer, since 1949 berylhum has no longer been used as the inside coating of fluorescent tubes. Beryllium is also used for computer parts, electrical instrument components, and solid propellant rocket fuels. Because it is one of the few metals that is transparent to X-rays, it is used to make special glass for X-ray equipment. 

The elemental metallic form of beryllium is highly toxic, as are most of its compounds. When inhaled, the fumes, dust, or particles of berylhum are highly carcinogenic. Some beryllium compounds are toxic when they penetrate cuts in the skin (e.g., when an old fluorescent tube breaks). Beryllium oxide when inhaled can result in a fatal disease known as berylliosis (similar to, but more toxic than, sihcosis). 

Beryllium metal, beryllium-aluminum alloy, beryl ore, beryllium chloride, beryllium fluoride, beryllium hydroxide, beryllium sulfate, and beryllium oxide all produce lung tumors in rats exposed by inhalation or intra-tracheally. The oxide and the sulfate produce lung tumors in monkeys after intrabronchial implantation or inhalation. A number of compounds produce osteosarcomas in rabbits after their intravenous or intramedullary administration. ... 

Beryllium is an important metal alloy used in the nuclear power industry. Its presence in coal and oil results in more than 1250 tons being released into the environment annually from fuel combustion at power plants. Exposure is primarily from inhalation, but skin contact can result in dermatitis. Cigarette smokers also inhale a little beryllium. Initially, beryllium distributes to the liver, but ultimately is absorbed by bone. 

Elemental Be and its compounds are very poisonous by inhalation or intravenous route. Chronic inhalation of beryUium dusts or fumes can cause a serious lung disease, beryUiosis, after a latent period ranging from several months to many years. Inhalation of airborne dusts can also cause an acute disease manifested as dyspnea, pneumonitis and tracheobronchitis with a short latency period of a few days. Skin contact with soluble salts of the metal can cause dermatitis. Beryllium also is a carcinogen. There is sufficient evidence of its inducing cancer in animals and humans. 

Individuals whose jobs expose them to unusually high particulate concentrations are especially susceptible to health problems from the pollutant. For example, men and women who work with the mineral asbestos are very prone to development of a serious and usually fatal condition known as asbestosis, in which fibers of the mineral become embedded in the interstices (the empty spaces within tissue) of the lung. Similar conditions are observed among coal workers who inhale coal dust (pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease) textile workers (byssinosis, or brown lung disease) those who work with clay, brick, silica, glass, and other ceramic materials (silicosis) and workers exposed to high levels of beryllium fumes (berylliosis). 

Acute pulmonary disease is due exclusively to inhalation of soluble beryllium salts and is not caused by exposure to the oxide, the metal, or its alloys. The exact forms of beryllium causing the chronic pulmonary disease and the degree of exposure necessary to induce it are not precisely known. It is known that under the completely uncontrolled conditions existing in bery llium extraction plants before the establishment of air-count standards in 1949, when beiyllium air-counts were in milligrams per cubic meter of air rather than micrograms, only about 1% of the exposed workers became ill This would indicate a sensitivity of a limited number of individuals to beryllium. 

Another form of pneumokomosis is an acute and often fatal form which results from inhalation of beryllium, much used in the manufacture of fluorescent lamps,... 

Beryllium Beryllium was first detected in 1798 in the gemstones beryl and emerald (BesA SigOis) and was subsequently prepared in pure form in 1828 by the reduction of BeCl2 with potassium. It is obtained today from large commercial deposits of beryl in Brazil and southern Africa. Though beryllium compounds are extremely toxic, particularly when inhaled as dust, the metal is nevertheless useful in forming alloys. Addition of a few percent beryllium to copper or nickel results in hard, corrosion-resistant alloys that are used in airplane engines and precision instruments. 

Inhalation of beryllium compounds can cause acute chemical pneumonitis, a very rapidly progressing condition in which the entire respiratory tract, including nasal passages, pharynx, tracheobronchial airways, and alveoli, develops an inflammatory reaction. Beryllium fluoride is particularly effective in causing this condition, which has proven fatal in some cases. 

Occupational exposure to beryllium, a hapten, by inhalation of fumes/dust and/or by skin contact may result in one of two conditions that primarily affect the lungs. In acute berylliosis, which may occur following a high concentration exposure, the metal acts as a direct chemical irritant, causing a nonspecific inflammatory reaction (acute chemical pneumonitis). However, a small percentage of those exposed develop beryllium-specific T-cell-mediated hypersensitivity (Type IV) with proliferation and accu-... 

It is to be noted that beryllium compounds are exceedingly toxic, particularly if inhaled, and great care and precautions must be taken in handling them. Chelating hydroxy- and polyaminocarboxylic adds have been studied3 as sequestering agents for Be2+. 

---