Low prevalence of chronic beryllium disease among workers at a nuclear weapons research and development facility.
OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in a cohort of workers from a nuclear weapons research and development facility.


METHODS
We evaluated 50 workers with BeS with medical and occupational histories, physical examination, chest imaging with high-resolution computed tomography (N = 49), and pulmonary function testing. Forty of these workers also underwent bronchoscopy for bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsies.


RESULTS
The mean duration of employment at the facility was 18 years and the mean latency (from first possible exposure) to time of evaluation was 32 years. Five of the workers had CBD at the time of evaluation (based on histology or high-resolution computed tomography); three others had evidence of probable CBD.


CONCLUSIONS
These workers with BeS, characterized by a long duration of potential Be exposure and a long latency, had a low prevalence of CBD.
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Mehrdad
M
Arjomandi
James
J
Seward
Michael B
MB
Gotway
Stephen
S
Nishimura
George P
GP
Fulton
Josef
J
Thundiyil
Talmadge E
TE
King
Philip
P
Harber
John R
JR
Balmes
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001607:Berylliosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054043:Nuclear Weapons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology