Urine beryllium

For the determination of beryllium, different organic materials were destroyed by low temperatur ashing or pressure decomposition with nitric acid/hydrofluoric acid in a Teflon tube. Interfacing elements were masked or pre-extracted at pH 9 the beryllium trifluoracetyl-acetonate was formed and extracted into benzene. The concentration of Be(tfa)2 solutions is possible From biological fluids such as urine beryllium is directly extracted as Fe(tfa)2 Direct dissolution-chela-... 

A number of procedures for the determination of metals and biological samples call for the extraction of the metal with an organic chelating agent in order to remove interferences and concentrate the metal to enable detection of low levels. The urine or blood sample may be first subjected to wet ashing to enable extraction of the metal. Beryllium from an acid-digested blood or urine sample may be extracted by acetylacetone into methylisobutyl ketone prior to atomic absorption analysis. Virtually all of the common metals can be determined by this approach using appropriate extractants. 

Beryllium was analysed by GC as a volatile chelate the most frequently of all elements. A rapid micro-analytical procedure for the determination of beryllium in biological fluids was developed and published by Black and Sievers [627], who devoted their attention to urine, blood, liver homogenates and plant extracts. The sample in ajsealed glass ampoule was treated directly with trifluoroacetylacetone, by which means the losses of the sample or possible contamination that occur in conventional ashing procedures were eliminated. 

Foreman et al. [631] compared the direct method of the chelate formation with the preliminary ashing method for the analysis of beryllium in rat urine. A detailed study showed that both of the methods are satisfactory, whereas testing of column material and packings showed the best results for a PTFE column packed with SE-52. Down to 1 ng/ml of the element could be detected in urine with the use of an ECD and EDTA as a masking reagent and a 0.05 M benzene solution of trifluoroacetylacetone. 

The analytical results provided few surprises with respect to the trace element concentrations which were expected for urine. See Tables II and V. The results for all of the elements studied were within or below the range of previously reported concentrations. The selenium and zinc results were shghtly greater than the corresponding model concentrations and those for aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, iron, and vanadium were approximately one order of magnitude lower than the model values. Because of possible diflFerences in diet and because the samples studied in this work were derived from first-morning voids, it is not possible to draw unequivocal conclusions concerning the diflFerences between the observed and expected results. 

Beryllium is not well absorbed by any route oral absorption of beryllium is less than 0.01% and probably only occurs in the acidic stomach environment. About half of inhaled beryllium is cleared in 2 weeks the remainder is cleared slowly and the residual becomes fixed in the lung (granulomata). The half-life of beryllium in rat blood is 3 h. Beryllium is distributed to all tissues. High doses generally go to the liver and then are gradually transferred to the bone. Most beryllium concentrates in the skeleton. Beryllium is excreted in the urine however, the fraction of administered dose excreted in urine is variable. 

Beryllium is sensitively determined in the furnace and is suitable for toxicology determinations. It has been determined in urine (Paschal and Bailey, 1986) using STPF conditions and Zeeman background correction with a detection limit of 0.05 ng/L. Urine samples were diluted 1 -f 3 in the matrix modifier and 20 /uL of sample was added to the platform furnace. 

The beryllium that is retained in the lungs can either be cleared by expectoration or transported to other sites in the body. Most of this beryllium will be retained in the skeleton or liver. The beryllium that is eventually eliminated from the body will be eliminated in the urine [10], No significant fecal elimination of beryllium is thought to occur. 

Determination of Traces of Beryllium in Human and Rat Urine Samples by Gas Chromatography Analyst (London) 95(1134) 797-804 (1970) CA 73 118615q... 

Quantitative gas chromatographic schemes now exist for the determination of beryllium in blood, urine, and tissue,chromium in serum," aluminum in uranium, aluminum, gallium, and indium, in aqueous solu-tions," iron in ore, chromium in steel, titanium in bauxite, aluminum, iron, and copper in alloys,uranium, tungsten and molybdenum in alloys and ores, " and the list continues to grow rapidly. In the ultratrace analysis of beryllium the lower limit of detectability is ca. 10 g. The gas... 

Excretion of beryllium in animals is mainly by the feces - 94% as compared with 1.6% in urine. With intratracheal administration, excretion was always high in the first 24 h and then dropped to low levels which became undetectable after 75 days. Elimination by the feces was persistent for 40 days. The urinary excretion of beryllium in human beings exposed has some outstanding features ... 

Prolonged excretion can follow even slight exposure beryllium has been detected in the urine up to 10 years after cessation of exposure. 

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