Toxicity of beryllium

Two other factors are noteworthy the deleterious effects on chemical and mechanical properties of small amounts of impurities residual from extraction of the metal, and its toxicity. The first of these factors is obviated by vacuum melting the raw metal (for purification) as an essential prerequisite to further processing. The toxicity of beryllium is essentially a pulmonary problem and great care must be taken in handling the finely divided metal or its compounds. In practice, this type of activity is usually carried out under well-ventilated conditions. Certain tolerance levels for atmospheric beryllium are now internationally accepted and merit careful study before work on beryllium is embarked upon. 

Tepper LB, Hardy HL, Chamberlin RI Toxicity of Beryllium Compounds, pp 31-80. New York, Elsevier, 1961... 

J.H.Buddery, "Beryllium",Academic Press,NY (i960) 10)L.B.Tepper, "Toxicity of Beryllium Compounds , Elsevier,NY(1961)... 

There has been a significant amount of research on the interactions of organic ligands with beryllium due to the toxicity of beryllium and the role beryllium plays in CBD. Most of the research has focnsed on mononuclear species at low pH, which is mainly due to the precipitation of Be(OH)2 above pH 5.8, and the formation of polynuclear species. Only a few ligands are able to compete with the formation of Be(OH)2 ( sp = 1 X 10-20). 

Kriebel D, Brain JD, Sprince NL, and Kazemi H (1988) The pulmonary toxicity of beryllium. American Review of Respiratory Disease 137 464-473. 

D. A. Everest, The Chemistry of Beryllium, Elsevier, 1964 H. E. Stockinger, Beryllium, its Industrial Hygiene Aspects, Academic Press, 1966 L. B. Tepper, H. L. Hardy and R. I. Chamberlain, Toxicity of Beryllium Compounds, Elsevier, 1961. 

Acute pulmonary toxicity of beryllium sulfate inhalation in rats and mice cell kinetics and histopa-thology. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 85 248-256. 

Most of the elements of the periodic system occur in waters, including the elements of rate earths. However, these concentrations are very low and do not cause any hygienic or technological problems. Recently, attention has been paid to the remarkable toxicity of beryllium. The compounds of beryllium are used in the production of rocket fuels, fluorescent lamps and they occur in wastewaters from beryllium processing works. 

Beryllium oxide is a high melting compound with an exceptionally high thermal conductivity, very low electrical conductivity, and a remarkable chemical stability. The breaking strength of BeO is comparable to that of a-Al203, however, the industrial production of BeO is more expensive. The high toxicity of beryllium compounds, for example abrasive dust of BeO, prevents a broad use of this material. 

At the time that this plant was operating, the extreme toxicity of beryllium compounds was not fuUy appreciated. Eight deaths were caused at the Degussa Company which could be directly attributed to beryllium compounds, two of them at the sulphate extraction stage. s... 

Compared to the heavier group 2 elements, the chemistry of beryllium with N-heterocyclic carbenes has been relatively unexplored. This gap in the literature is attributed to the incredibly high toxicity of beryllium and its compounds [40]. 

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