Beryllium Exposure Warning Arrives Too Late for Contract Workers at Livermore Lab

February 8, 2008 — At Lawrence Livermore Labs in California, as many as 178 GSE Construction workers may have been exposed to the known carcinogen beryllium, a toxic metal that can cause lung cancer and chronic beryllium disease. Beryllium exposure occurred while contract workers were performing a seismic retrofit on a machine shop. The four–year project ended in December 2007, but results from a routine beryllium test revealed dangerously high levels of beryllium as early as July 2007. As a result of the lab’s failure to communicate to the workers about the health hazard, the GSE contract workers may have been unknowingly exposed to beryllium and placed at risk of developing beryllium related diseases. Lawrence Livermore Lab failed to notify the GSE contractor and contract workers of possible beryllium exposure for months after test results came back positive for beryllium in three of the buildings at the lab, including the machine shop.

Beryllium is commonly used in aerospace and materials research and nuclear weapons that are developed and tested for the federal government at Lawrence Livermore Lab. Normally, when exposures become known, the policy is to test workers for beryllium sensitivity, to make sure the workers are not at risk of developing beryllium related diseases and to prevent further beryllium exposure. Because the workers were not informed, that danger is elevated. “We absolutely could have and should have informed the employees about this sooner,” said lab spokeswoman Susan Houghton. (Inside Bay Area, February 2, 2008)

Beryllium Exposure Can Lead to Chronic Beryllium Disease – Testing Begins

Beryllium exposure can cause people to develop beryllium sensitivity, chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a potentially fatal condition that causes scarring of the lungs, and lung cancer. “We definitely know that continued exposure is a risk factor for progression from sensitivity to the disease,” said UC San Francisco pulmonary physician John Balmes, who focuses on occupational and environmental lung disease. (Inside Bay Area, February 2, 2008) Beryllium exposure is an even greater threat if beryllium dust or fumes become airborne. Workers who inhale the hazardous material into their lungs are at significant risk of developing beryllium lung diseases.

On February 1st, questionnaires were mailed to all workers at Lawrence Livermore Lab seeking information to ascertain whether or not they were at risk as a result of beryllium exposure. A public meeting has been scheduled to talk about the exposure with those that may have been exposed to beryllium. The Livermore Lab will also provide blood tests to current and past contract workers. New management is currently investigating why the building was left open and why workers were not notified sooner.

Your Beryllium Case

Brayton Purcell has been involved with beryllium related litigation as part of their occupational lung disease programs since the late 1980s, including other workers exposed at Lawrence Livermore Labs. We have represented both beryllium workers and individuals who have come into contact with beryllium through others. We seek damages in these cases to the full extent allowed by law in order to compensate our clients for their pain and suffering, loss of wages, and medical expenses.

If you have been exposed to beryllium and developed chronic beryllium disease or lung cancer, please feel free to contact Brayton Purcell’s beryllium attorneys. We will evaluate your potential case free of charge and advise you about your legal choices. Our law firm has successfully handled chronic beryllium cases as well as other toxic substances for more than 20 years and we have earned an excellent national reputation in this legal field. Our offices are located in California, Oregon and Utah, but we handle beryllium cases from across the country. Many of our lawyers are admitted in multiple states.