Beryllium health effects, exposure limits and regulatory requirements

The existing ERPGs for Be are intended to prevent the acute health effects, primarily chemical pneumonitis caused by the more soluble forms of Be. Patients who survive acute beryllium disease will typically recover in less than 1 year. The need for an emergency response to prevent chronic effects is less obvious, and short-term exposure to the less soluble forms of Be could contribute to risk for CBD. Based on medical surveillance data from various DOE sites for current workers tested (13,270) and former workers (43,628), the number of sensitization and CBD cases at each site is a few percent (0-4%). Sensitization and CBD are due to an immune-system response, and they have not been found to be sensitive to the length of employment of a worker in a beryllium facility.