Beryllium: A Chronic Problem.

Beryllium: A Chronic Problem.

Beryllium is the fourth element in the periodic table and the second lightest metal known. Discovered as an oxide in 1798 by the French chemist L. N. Vauquelin, beryllium was first isolated in 1828, when it was called "glucinium" owing to the sweet taste of its salts. Beryllium is the lightest of all solid, chemically stable substances and has an unusually high melting point (12870C). Silver gr...

Beryllium Sensitization Progresses to Chronic Beryllium Disease

The blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test is used in medical surveillance to identify both beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease. Approximately 50% of individuals with beryllium sensitization have chronic beryllium disease at the time of their initial clinical evaluation; however, the rate of progression from beryllium sensitization to chronic beryllium disease is unknow...

Chronic Beryllium Disease and Sensitization at a Beryllium Processing Facility

We conducted a medical screening for beryllium disease of 577 former workers from a beryllium processing facility. The screening included a medical and work history questionnaire, a chest radiograph, and blood lymphocyte proliferation testing for beryllium. A task exposure and a job exposure matrix were constructed to examine the association between exposure to beryllium and the development of ...

Chronic beryllium poisoning.

In 1933 Weber and Engelhardt reported the first case of acute pneumonitis due to beryllium poisoning. Other instances of the acute reaction to beryllium salts were described by Van Ordstrand, Hughes, DeNardi, and Carmody (1945). Hardy and Tabershaw (1946) gave details of the chronic or delayed form of the disease, and DeNardi, Van Ordstrand, Curtis, and Zielinski (1953) published a review of 46...

Chronic beryllium disease