PHILADELPHIA, PA — January 9, 2004 — The families of three women who died of chronic beryllium disease were allowed to proceed with lawsuits against a nearby factory that produced beryllium. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that these beryllium cases may still be timely, even though they were brought over two years after the initial injuries took place.

Pennsylvania law requires that a lawsuit be brought within two years of injury or death. However, the beryllium victims were misdiagnosed. Jane Debiac, who lived less than a mile from the beryllium plant, was told that she had sarcoidosis, not chronic beryllium disease. The true nature of her disease was only discovered after her death. Another beryllium victim lived within miles of the plant for 50 years and had an office job there for about a year and a half. She was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and told that “it was highly unlikely that this was related to her beryllium exposure…” Geneva Bare, another plaintiff, received a general diagnosis of interstitial lung disease. Although her doctors considered the possibility of chronic beryllium disease, they did not share this information with her.

The Court of Appeals held that a jury should decide whether the plaintiffs made reasonable efforts to discover the nature of their medical problems. The doctors’ misdiagnosis of their diseases may have allowed an exception to the two year filing limit, known as a statute of limitations. The Court remanded the cases to the trial court to consider the issue.

Detecting Chronic Beryllium Disease

Chronic beryllium disease is an incurable illness that scars and damages the lung tissue, resulting in loss of respiratory function. Signs of the disease include cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, fevers, and skin rash. In severe cases, the right side of the heart may be strained due to increased pressure in the pulmonary artery from lung damage.

Beryllium disease victims first develop “beryllium sensitization,” an allergic response to the beryllium. The average time from first beryllium exposure to the development of chronic beryllium disease symptoms can be a few months to as long as forty years.

Chronic beryllium disease may easily be confused with sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A lung biopsy of a patient with either sarcoidosis or chronic beryllium disease will show granulomas, which are nodes of inflammatory tissue. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may not have granulomas, but some symptoms of all three diseases overlap— shortness of breath, cough, and fatigue. Lung inflammation occurs in all three diseases.

One test that is specific to chronic beryllium disease is the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). The BeLPT works by showing how disease–fighting cells or lymphocytes in blood samples react to beryllium. If the lymphocytes react strongly, then the BeLPT is called abnormal and indicates beryllium sensitization, a precursor to full–blown chronic beryllium disease. The doctors who diagnosed the three women who died of chronic beryllium disease failed to recommend that a BeLPT be performed.

How Beryllium Exposure Occurs

The beryllium plant was owned by a series of manufacturers before it closed in 2000. The list includes Kawecki Berylco Inc., Cabot Corporation and the NGK Metals Corporation. Beryllium facilities such as this one may expose people in the local area to elevated levels of beryllium.

Beryllium is also released from smoke stacks and wastes of power plants that burn coal, giving off beryllium byproducts. From 1987 to 1993, beryllium releases to land and water totaled over 340,000 lbs, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The largest releases occurred in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Workers may be exposed to beryllium at jobs in which beryllium is mined, processed, machined, or converted into metal, alloys, and other materials. Beryllium exposure hazards are high in the defense, aeronautics, computer, and electronics fields. The metal is used in the manufacture of nuclear reactors, missile parts, cathode ray tubes, x–ray windows, computer parts, dental alloys, ceramics for electronics, special non–sparking tools, and even in some sports equipment.

Both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have set workplace limits for beryllium exposure. The permissible exposure limit or PEL is 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter of beryllium during an 8–hour shift for employees of DOE and its contractors. For workers in private industries, OSHA sets the limit at 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter during an 8–hour shift. Despite these PELs, there is really no safe level of beryllium exposure. Even small amounts of beryllium may cause chronic beryllium disease in susceptible people.

At Brayton Purcell, we are concerned about workplace and environmental exposure to beryllium. We have successfully handled cases involving beryllium and other toxic substances for over 20 years, and have earned an excellent national reputation in this legal field. If you have been exposed to beryllium and developed chronic beryllium disease, please feel free to contact us to learn about your legal options.