title: Risk of beryllium sensitization in a low-exposed former nuclear weapons cohort from the Cold War era.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The nuclear weapons industry has long been known as a source of beryllium exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,004 former workers from a nuclear weapons assembly site in the Midwest were screened for sensitization to beryllium (BeS). The screenings were part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Former Worker Program established in 1996.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three (2.3%) workers were found sensitized to beryllium and this prevalence was comparable to other DOE sites. Occasional, direct exposure to beryllium through machining and grinding of copper-beryllium (Cu-Be) 2% alloy tools was found to increase the risk of sensitization compared to background exposure (OR = 3.83; 95% CI: 1.04-14.03) with a statistically significant trend (P = 0.03) revealing that particular jobs are associated with sensitization. Exposure potential in this study was estimated based on job titles and not personal exposure information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results confirm the need to screen workers using beryllium alloy tools in other industries and for consideration of altering work practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, 2213 Westlawn, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. marek-mikulski@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Marek A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mikulski
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Wayne T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: Patrick G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Hartley
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Sprince
authors.forename: Laurence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Fuortes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001607:Berylliosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001608:Beryllium / Q000633:toxicity*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003300:Copper; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D000075322:Heavy Metal Poisoning; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009689:Nuclear Warfare; D054043:Nuclear Weapons; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011041:Poisoning; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D001608:Beryllium