What is Beryllium? A Basic Definition

Glucinum \Glu*ci"num\, n. [Cf. F. glucinium, glycium, fr.
         Gr. ?,
   sweet. Cf. Glycerin.] (Chem.)
   A
         rare metallic element, of a silver white color, and low
  
         specific gravity (2.1), resembling magnesium. It never
         occurs
   naturally in the free state, but is always
         combined, usually
   with silica or alumina, or both; as in
         the minerals
   phenacite, chrysoberyl, beryl or emerald,
         euclase, and
   danalite. It was named from its oxide
         glucina, which was
   known long before the element was
         isolated. Symbol Gl. Atomic
   weight 9.1. Called also
         beryllium. [Formerly
         written also
   glucinium.]
  
         [1913 Webster]

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Mon Dec 29

• Under Bush, OSHA Mired in Inaction - washingtonpost 12-29-08: In the spring, political appointees quietly scrapped work on another long-pending regulation of hazardous exposure to ionizing radiation in mailrooms, food warehouses, and hospitals and airports. The agency's first director under Bush, John L. Henshaw, startled career officials by telling them in an early meeting that employers were OSHA's real customers, not the nation's workers. "Everybod y was pretty amazed," one of those present recalled. "Our purpose is to ensure employee safety and health. . . . He just looked at things differently.&q uot;

Fri Dec 12

• POGO: Enough to Make You Sick: Weak Oversight of Beryllium Contamination at DOE Labs: Yesterday, POGO sent a letter to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Health, Safety, and Security (HSS) urging it to provide oversight and enforcement of Oak Ridge National Laboratory 9;s (ORNL) beryllium exposure prevention policies. These policies were designed to prevent Lab workers' exposure to beryllium, which can lead to the development of the incurable and potentially fatal lung disease, chronic beryllium disease. Recently, POGO received a tip that ORNL is not in compliance with its beryllium prevention plan. ORNL's plan was born out of Beryllium Controls at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (IG-737), a damning 2006 DOE Inspector General (IG) report which found that ORNL ?did not properly manage activities relating to beryllium contamination. ? In our letter, we expressed concern that HSS did not follow up on these issues when they were previously brought to the office's attention.

Sat Dec 6

• BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | 'Contaminated land' housing row: A social housing project near a former beryllium plant has been approved by councillors in Pembrokeshire. The 37-home application on land off Marble Hall Road in Milford Haven had attracted objections amid fears the site was contaminated. Annotated link http://www.dii go.com/bookmar k/http%3A%2F%2 Fnews.bbc.co.u k%2F2%2Fhi%2Fu k_news%2Fwales %2Fsouth_west% 2F7758406.stm

Tue Dec 2

• Slow Progress on Long-Awaited Beryllium Rule -- Occupational Health: The safety and health community shouldn't hold out hope for the long-sought beryllium exposure standard to be issued by OSHA in the final days of the Bush administration . The latest Department of Labor semiannual regulatory agenda, which was published this week, lists one more step in its evolution ? a March 2009 completion of a peer review of health effects and risk assessment ? but nothing further, such as an NPRM. The agency says it has been working on this rule for more than six years. In 1999 and 2001, the Paper Allied-Industr ial, Chemical, and Energy Workers Union, Public Citizen Health Research Group, and others petitioned OSHA to regulate worker exposures to beryllium via an emergency temporary standard.

Wed Nov 5

• Fantastic Four Comics
• Beryllium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 909 hill-climb spyder
• Beryllium - Periodic Table: Beryllium

Sat Nov 1

• Results in on beryllium disease: Knoxville News Sentinel: New study of Y-12 employees blames exposure, genetics OAK RIDGE - Results from a new study involving beryllium workers at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant reinforce what's long been conjectured about the cause of beryllium disease - it's likely a combination of a person's genetics and his or her exposures to the toxic metal. "Genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger," Dr. Lisa Maier, a physician at National Jewish Health in Denver and leader of the project, said Monday at Y-12's New Hope Center.

Wed Oct 29

• Beryllium study results released Monday - Oak Ridge, TN - The Oak Ridger: Beryllium study results released Monday

Tue Oct 14

• The Hawk Eye: Study seeks IAAP workers: Free health screenings, available through the University of Iowa, for those who worked for the Department of Defense at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, will wrap up in the next two to three months, and researchers are looking for another 200 participants. The program, initiated about two years ago, includes screening of sensitization to beryllium alloy and also aims to assess exposure to beryllium alloys among conventional weapons workers at the plant.

Fri Sep 5

• Gibbons Team Prevails In Class Action Suit Against Engineer: Accepting the arguments made by two Gibbons P.C. lawyers, a federal judge has dismissed a class action brought against a Pennsylvania engineering firm hired by the owners of a Reading, PA manufacturing plant to test air quality and beryllium levels at the plant. The lawsuit sought medical monitoring for thousands of local residents exposed to particles the plant emitted.

Thu Aug 28

• Beryllium Compounds | Technology Transfer Network Air Toxics Web site | US EPA: beryllium l assessment EPA

Sat Aug 23

• Health Officials Say Campus Bay Safe for Current Use, Not Homes. Category: News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday August 21, 2008: While state and county health officials said a chemically contaminated site in southeast Richmond poses no dangers to their current users, concerns remain about past users and those to come. They also acknowledge that their findings don?t include the possible interactions between the more than 100 toxic metals and chemicals found at the site. Annotated link http://www.dii go.com/bookmar k/http%3A%2F%2 Fwww.berkeleyd ailyplanet.com %2Fissue%2F200 8-08-21%2Farti cle%2F30882%3F headline%3DHea lth-Officials- Say-Campus-Bay -Safe-for-Curr ent-Use-Not-Ho mes

Thu Aug 21

• Rocky responds to the Department of Labor : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News

Off-site Beryllium Research Links

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