U.S. Laxity on Beryllium Job Safety Reported

During the last five decades, the U.S. government risked the lives of thousands of workers by knowingly allowing them to be exposed to dangerous levels of beryllium, a metal critical to the military, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Numerous government, scientific and industry reports showed beryllium put workers in extreme danger, and hundreds of workers exposed to the metal’s dust have contracted beryllium disease, an incurable and sometimes fatal lung illness, the Toledo Blade reported.

Some workers at private weapon plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania were exposed to levels of beryllium dust 100 times the federal safety limit, the newspaper said, citing government records.

Dr. Peter Infante, director of standards review for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the government had failed to protect workers.

“These are all deaths and disease that could have been prevented,” Infante said. “That’s the sad thing about it.”

Beryllium is a gray metal lighter than aluminum yet six times stiffer than steel. It is vital to the operation of missiles, jet planes and nuclear weapons.

It’s not clear how many people have contracted the disease. Researchers cite an estimated 1,200 cases and hundreds of deaths nationwide but say many cases are misdiagnosed or undetected.