Drinking beryllium

California s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) restricts the use and disposal of antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, and nickel compounds, without specifying limits. 

Beryllium is primarily found in effluent from specialist metalworking. No formal guideline value has been proposed in the WHO guidelines because beryllium is considered unlikely to occur in drinking-water. It is, therefore, unusual for monitoring to be required. 

Exposure to small amounts of beryllium occurs with ingestion of some foods and drinking water. Beryllium enters the air, water, and soil as a result of natural and human activities. Emissions from burning coal and oil increase beryllium levels in air. Beryllium enters waterways from the wearing away of rocks and soil. Most of the man-made beryllium that enters waterways comes when industry dumps waste water and when beryllium dust in the air from industrial activities settles over water Beryllium, as a chemical component, occurs naturally in soil however, disposal of coal ash, incinerator ash, and industrial wastes may increase the concentration of beryllium in soil. In air, beryllium compounds are present mostly as fine dust particles. The dust eventually settles over land and water. 

Beryllium is also present in solid and liquid fossil fuels. The burning of coal and oil emits beryllium particulates that may continue to circulate in the air for some time or settle into waterways. In lakes and ponds, the beryllium generally settles harmlessly to the bottom, but may enter drinking water reservoirs via rivers and streams, and has shown a marked abundance in Precambrian aquifers. In drinking water, levels exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency s maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per billion are extremely rare, but are most likely to occur near areas where industries dump wastewater. 

Vaessen HAMG and Szteke B (2000) Beryllium in food and drinking water - a summary of available knowledge. Food Add Contam 17 149—159. 

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