Beryllium is a metal that can be harmful when you breathe it.
1.6 How can beryllium affect children?
This section discusses potential health effects from exposures during the period from conception to maturity at 18 years
of age in humans.It is likely that the health effects seen in children exposed to beryllium will be similar to the effects seen
in adults; chronic beryllium disease was found in a child living near a beryllium factory. We do not know whether
children differ from adults in their susceptibility to beryllium.We do not know if exposure to beryllium will result in birth
defects or other developmental effects in people. The studies on developmental effects in animals are not conclusive.
We have no information to suggest that there are any differences between children and adults in terms of how much
beryllium will enter the body, where beryllium can be found in the body, and how fast beryllium will leave the body. It is
likely that beryllium can be transferred from the mother to an infant in breast milk or that it can cross the placenta.
1.5 How can beryllium affect my health?
Beryllium is a metal that can be harmful when you breathe it. The effects depend on how much and how long you are
exposed to it. When you breathe it in, beryllium can damage your lungs. When you breathe in large amounts of soluble
beryllium compounds (greater than 1 mg beryllium per cubic meter of air, 1 mg/m³), the lung damage resembles
pneumonia with reddening and swelling of the lungs. This condition is called acute beryllium disease. The lung damage
may heal if beryllium exposure is stopped. Human studies have shown that occupational and community ambient air
standards were effective in eliminating most acute lung disease. Some people can become sensitive to beryllium. This
is known as hypersensitivity or allergy. If you become sensitive (allergic) to beryllium, you may develop an immune or
inflammatory reaction to small amounts of beryllium that do not cause effects in people who are not sensitive to
beryllium. When this occurs, white cells accumulate around the beryllium and form a chronic inflammatory reaction
called granulomas (granulomas are not tumors). This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (CBD). This disease
can occur long after exposure (10-15 years) to small amounts of either soluble or insoluble forms of beryllium (greater
than 0.0005 mg/m³). If you have this disease, you may feel weak, tired, and have difficulty breathing. Some individuals
that have CBD may experience anorexia, weight loss, and blueness of hands and feet.
This disease could also lead to heart enlargement and heart disease in advanced cases. Both the short-term,
pneumonia-like disease and the chronic beryllium disease can be fatal.