Gourt > Health > Occupational Health and Safety > Hazardous Substances > Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Be and atomic number 4. A toxic bivalent element, beryllium is a steel grey, strong, light-weight yet brittle, alkaline earth metal, that is primarily used as a hardening agent in alloys (most notably beryllium copper).
Notable characteristics
Beryllium has one of the highest melting points of the light metals. The modulus of elasticity of beryllium is approximately 1/3 greater than that of steel. It has excellent thermal conductivity, is nonmagnetic and resists attack by concentrated nitric acid. It is highly permeable to X-rays, and neutrons are liberated when it is hit by alpha particles, as from radium or polonium (about 30 neutrons/million alpha particles). At standard temperature and pressures beryllium resists oxidation when exposed to air (although its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide). The speed of sound in beryllium (12,500m/s) is greater than in any other element.
Applications
- Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in the production of beryllium-copper because of its ability to absorb large amounts of heat. Beryllium-copper alloys are used in a wide variety of applications because of their electrical and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness, nonmagnetic properties, along with good corrosion and fatigue resistance. These applications include the making of spot-welding electrodes, springs, non-sparking tools and electrical contacts.
- Due to their stiffness, light weight, and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, beryllium-copper alloys are also used in the defense and aerospace industries as light-weight structural materials in high-speed aircraft, missiles, space vehicles and communication satellites.
- Thin sheets of beryllium foil are used with X-ray detection diagnostics to filter out visible light and allow only X-rays to be detected.
- In the field of X-ray lithography beryllium is used for the reproduction of microscopic integrated circuits.
- In the telecommunications industry, Beryllium is made into tools that are used to tune the highly magentic klystrons used for high power microwave transmissions for safety.
- Because it has a low thermal neutron absorption cross section, the nuclear power industry uses this metal in nuclear reactors as a neutron reflector and moderator.
- Beryllium is used in nuclear weapons for similar reasons. For example, the critical mass of a plutonium sphere is significantly reduced if the plutonium is surrounded by a beryllium shell.
- Beryllium is sometimes used in neutron sources, in which the beryllium is mixed with an alpha emitter such as 210Po, 226Ra, 239Pu or 241Am.
- Beryllium is also used in the making of gyroscopes, various computer equipment, watch springs and instruments where light-weight, rigidity and dimensional stability are needed.
- Beryllium oxide is useful for many applications that require an excellent heat conductor, with high strength and hardness, with a very high melting point, and that acts as an electrical insulator.
- Beryllium compounds were once used in fluorescent lighting tubes, but this use was discontinued because of berylliosis in the workers manufacturing the tubes (see below).
- The James Webb Space Telescope (Beryllium related details from NASA here) will have 18 hexagonal beryllium sections for its mirrors. Because JWST will face a temperature of −240 degrees Celsius (30 kelvins), the mirror is made of beryllium, a material capable of handling extreme cold better than glass. Beryllium contracts and deforms less than glass — and thus remains more uniform — in such temperatures.
- Beryllium is also used in the Joint European Torus fusion research facility, to condition the plasma facing components.
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @MrBooker1989 @iamnorman @MissEricka @kailyn_reid @DomiLewis @nediamnori_87
itweetlive (itweetlive) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:57:57 -0000
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @MrBooker1989 @iamnorman @MissEricka @kailyn_reid @DomiLewis @nediamnori_87
Finished my Index car on Beryllium, I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Tired goodnight tweetters.
TravisStunny (Travis Sisouvong) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:04:06 -0000
Finished my Index car on Beryllium, I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Tired goodnight tweetters.
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @KurtGrave @IceBlonde @webgeekcom @briantdonahue @Roary47
itweetlive (itweetlive) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:57:37 -0000
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @KurtGrave @IceBlonde @webgeekcom @briantdonahue @Roary47
working on my Chemistry report on Beryllium and Boron. It's for exams.
TravisStunny (Travis Sisouvong) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:38:07 -0000
working on my Chemistry report on Beryllium and Boron. It's for exams.
@Packard_Sonic MY DAD HAD EXTREME LOW BLOOD COUNT IN UK ,CAME HOME EVERY NIGHT CLOTHED IN URANIUM DUST AND BERYLLIUM DUST
SPARTICUSIAN (IAN SPARTICUS HARDY) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:08:03 -0000
@Packard_Sonic MY DAD HAD EXTREME LOW BLOOD COUNT IN UK ,CAME HOME EVERY NIGHT CLOTHED IN URANIUM DUST AND BERYLLIUM DUST
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @Hukaatir @ToriFan247 @ScienceCareer @itweetlive
itweetlive (itweetlive) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:57:32 -0000
I think your twitter acount is beryllium! @Hukaatir @ToriFan247 @ScienceCareer @itweetlive
Preventing Adverse Health Effects From Exposure to Beryllium on the Job - US OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin on this substance.
Meta Description: [ NONE ]
Beryllium at Hanford - Information about beryllium as it pertains to the DOE Hanford Site, in Washington State. Contains health issues, questions and answers and links.
Beryllium Compounds - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fact sheet on this metal and its hazards, with links to related toxicological information.
Beryllium Disease Prevention Program - Resources, program information and FAQs from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Meta Description: [ Beryllium Disease Prevention Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ]
Beryllium Facts - Information from the manufacturer Brush Wellman about beryllium, chronic beryllium disease, and what is being done about it.
Beryllium Handling Procedures - Standard procedures for beryllium operations from the PISCES laboratory area, University of California, San Diego.
Meta Description: [ EH&S Beryllium operations procedures for PISCES lab ]
Beryllium Support Group - Large collection of information maintained by Denver-area support group for people with chronic beryllium disease.
Beryllium: A Chronic Problem - Article by Leslie Lang, published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 1994. Discusses uses of this metal in industry, chronic beryllium disease, the possibility of genetic testing for CBD, and the incidence of the disease in the workforce.
Meta Description: [ Beryllium: A Chronic Problem, beryllium,
Environ Health Perspect 102-6-7, 1994: Beryllium: A Chronic Problem
, Leslie Lang, Location: Main Section of EHP Online ]
Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program - Large collection of information about beryllium, its hazards, occupational health standards, techniques for limiting exposure, and programs for testing nuclear weapons workers who may have been exposed to this metal. From U.S. Department of Energy.
Eco-USA: Beryllium - Toxicological profile of beryllium, including information on environmental fate and transport, exposure pathways, metabolism, and health effects.
Meta Description: [ Toxicological profile of beryllium, including information on environmental fate and transport, exposure pathways, metabolism, and health effects ]
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Facts About Beryllium Disease - Fact sheet by National Jewish Medical and Research Center.
Meta Description: [ Get information about beryllium disease, a condition that can occur with exposure to beryllium dust or fumes, and the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). ]
HSE Air Sampling Standards for Beryllium and Compounds - Testing protocol.
Natural History of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease - A medical article about the early detection of beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease. Includes recent studies
Meta Description: [ The Natural History of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease, beryllium, chronic beryllium disease, granuloma, cell-mediated immunity, lymphocyte, natural history, lung disease, pulmonary, immunology, metal toxicity, The Natural History of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Bery... ]
Significance of the Blood Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test - Abstract: An in vitro measure of the beryllium antigen-specific cell-mediated immune response. This response to beryllium is now understood to play a central role in the immunopathogenesis of chronic beryllium disease (CBD).
Meta Description: [ Significance of the Blood Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test, beryllium, chronic beryllium disease, granuloma, cell-mediated immunity, lymphocyte, lung disease, pulmonary, immunology, metal toxicity, Significance of the Blood Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test ]
The Deadly Alliance - Collection of an award-winning series of articles in the Toledo Blade about the history of occupational exposure to beryllium, focusing on government and industry roles in covering up its hazards.
Meta Description: [ The online edition of The Blade, Toledo's only daily newspaper. The web site is the leading online source for news and information in northwest Ohio. ]
ToxFAQs - Beryllium - Fact sheet published by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry answers the most frequently asked health questions about beryllium.
Meta Description: [ People working or living near beryllium industries have the greatest potential for exposure to beryllium. Lung damage has been observed in people exposed to high levels of beryllium in the air. About 1-15% of all people occupationally-exposed to beryllium in air become sensitive to beryllium and ... ]
Workers Deserve Equal Protection Against Exposure - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial urging exposure standards for all workers who could be exposed to beryllium in their jobs.
| Poisoned: The Workers of Brush Wellman, by Heathe Lares |
