An Explosive Legacy: Beryllium’s Hidden Health Hazards
A national survey conducted at the turn of the 20th century with journalists and the general public ranked the dropping of the atomic bomb and the end of World War II as the top news stories of the century.(1) Research and development of the first atomic bomb, code name Manhattan Project, was a massive effort involving the top scientists in the United States, the military, and tens of thousands of ordinary American citizens working at several locations across the U.S. From a health and safety perspective, one would naturally think of the hazards of exposure to radioactive materials. That risk was real and present, and radiation safety was in its infancy at the time. However, an equally insidious and not oft-discussed danger was present, which later caused sickness and death to scores of workers who were involved with the project.
Beryllium is both an element (Be) and a metal, naturally occurring and typically extracted from ores of bertrandite or beryl. Beryllium is used today in various applications, including communications, computers, cell phones, medical imaging, laser medicine, heat shields for NASA space exploration, orbital telescopes, and dozens of other uses. Without going into too much technical detail, as regards the Manhattan Project, beryllium was essential for the effectiveness of the first atomic bombs by increasing the yield, which is the weapon’s destructive power.
During the 1930s, the first significant use of beryllium was in producing fluorescent light bulbs.(2) At a manufacturing facility in Massachusetts that produced light bulbs, a significant number of workers were diagnosed with a form of chemical pneumonitis that would later be referred to as acute beryllium disease or ABD. Several workers died as a result of the disease, and many were impaired for life. During the 1940s, and associated with the Manhattan Project, beryllium processing center workers and persons living nearby began to develop ABD. The newly formed Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recognized that they had to develop safe working procedures for beryllium for the health and safety of their employees and from a public relations perspective. As a result, they created internal safety standards and extended the requirements to beryllium manufacturers. Beryllium remained crucial in developing the U.S. nuclear arsenal throughout the portion of the 20th century when the weapons were produced.
ABD, later termed chronic beryllium disease or CBD, is a progressive and inflammatory disease of the lungs caused by exposure to dust containing beryllium. One particularly disturbing aspect of the disease is that for some who are exposed, the onset of symptoms can be sudden and severe. Others might not experience detrimental health effects until months, years, and even decades after exposure.(3) In addition to CBD, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified beryllium as a Group 1 carcinogen that is proven to be carcinogenic to humans.(4)
The first established occupational exposure limit (OEL) was set at 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air, usually abbreviated as 2 μg/M3. The AEC developed this concentration in the 1940s, and it was also the first OEL for beryllium established by the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the early 1970s. As early as the late 1940s, as the medical and industrial hygiene communities studied beryllium- related diseases, evidence mounted that this concentration was not adequately protective of worker health and safety. However, despite some efforts by OSHA to decrease the allowable concentration in the late 1970s, this exposure limit remained in effect for decades.
Fast forward to the year 2000. In an almost unprecedented statement, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE; formerly the AEC) Secretary Bill Richardson admitted on a national television news show that the DOE had collaborated with the beryllium industry to defeat an effort by OSHA to reduce workers’ exposure to beryllium in the 1970s. In the secretary’s own words, “Priority one was production of our nuclear weapons. The last priority was the safety and health of the workers that build those weapons.” His statement included an apology to all workers who had been exposed to beryllium as a result of Cold War weapons manufacturing.
Where are we with beryllium now? OSHA recently implemented more protective measures for general industry, construction, and shipping. The standards took effect on May 20, 2017. In addition to lowering the PEL from 2.0 to 0.2 μg/M3 for an eight-hour exposure, other key provisions included the creation of an action limit of 0.1 μg/M3, the creation of a short-term 15-minute exposure limit of 2.0 μg/M3, mandatory use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce exposure, and a requirement for employers to make available at no charge to the employee medical examinations for exposed workers. OSHA has issued final rules with revisions in 2020.
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), in their 2024 edition of TLVs? and BEIs?, suggests a more stringent concentration of 0.05 μg/M3 in the form of an eight-hour threshold limit value or TLV.(5) The ACGIH is a professional society that regularly reviews ongoing medical evidence of diseases caused by workplace exposure and refines OELs continuously, usually with more stringent exposure limits recommended, as warranted by the data. Many industrial hygiene practitioners recommend the ACGIH TLVs as a best management practice, and many entities have adopted them as mandatory. Based on what we have learned about beryllium, this would seem sage advice.
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References:
(5) ACGIH Signature Publications. TLVs? and BEIs? Based on the Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents & Biological Exposure Indices, 2024.