July 25, 2003 — The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will collect data about beryllium levels at homes located in Elmore, Ohio, a town near a beryllium manufacturing plant owned by the Brush Wellman company. The purpose of the study is to determine if the public is being exposed to beryllium through the facility’s air emissions or from plant workers who may have carried beryllium dust home on their clothing. Investigators will collect beryllium soil, surface, and air samples from homes in the Elmore area, including those of current and former beryllium workers.

Beryllium sampling will begin later this year, after a public comment period ends on August 15, 2003 (Port Clinton News Herald, July 14, 2003). Comments about beryllium exposure and sampling may be sent to Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch, ATSDR, 1600 Clifton Road N.E., Mailstop E–60, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Beryllium Exposure Report Shows Need for More Sampling

Almost two years ago, ATSDR issued a report or “health consultation” about the Brush Wellman beryllium plant. The beryllium levels in Elmore air over a 30–day period were below the Environmental Protection Agency limit, according to the report. However, the agency said that this limit “…may not adequately protect the public from repeated short–term exposure to releases of beryllium during plant upset conditions.” Plant upset conditions include furnace fires and air pollution control system problems. Also, the agency noted that some of the air monitoring data was from Brush Wellman. It requested the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to perform periodic air monitoring to verify the Brush Wellman results.

ATSDR pointed to three beryllium incidents that occurred during 1991—one in which residents were evacuated when a smoke plume containing beryllium came from the plant’s barrel storage area, and two other times when workers were evacuated in order to reduce their beryllium exposure. During the first event, Brush Wellman barred OEPA emergency response workers from entering the plant to investigate, claiming that they lacked proper training. During all three incidents, overhead exhaust fans were used to remove air contaminants from work areas. However, the fans were general exhaust ventilation fans that are useful for cooling purposes, but do not contain any air cleaning devices.

Most Beryllium Production Occurs in Elmore

The Brush Wellman plant in Elmore manufactures most of the beryllium powder, beryllium oxide, and beryllium alloys manufactured in the United States. In operation since 1953, the plant employs about 800 workers and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Brush Wellman also hires some off–site machine shops in the Elmore area to machine beryllium–containing components. Workers in these shops have reported poor ventilation, unsafe cleanup practices, inadequate air monitoring, and a lack of appropriate personal protective equipment to limit beryllium exposure.

Beryllium Exposure May Lead to Chronic Beryllium Disease or Berylliosis

Workers who come into contact with beryllium are at risk for developing chronic beryllium disease or berylliosis, which is a painful scarring of the lung tissue. Beryllium is also carcinogenic and has been linked to lung cancer. See Beryllium Diseases for more details.

At Brayton Purcell, we are concerned about the health of workers exposed to beryllium. We have extensive experience representing victims of chronic beryllium disease and other serious beryllium–related injuries. Please feel free to contact us if you have been diagnosed with a beryllium disease and are interested in learning about your legal options.