Chemical Fact Sheet
Beryllium
| Chemical Abstract Number (CAS #) | 7440-41-7 |
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| Synonyms | BERYLLIUM-METALLIC; BERYLLIUM-9; GLUCINIUM; GLUCINUM; Beryllium-dust; Beryllium,-metal-powder |
| Analytical Methods | 200.7 - 200.8 - 6010 - 6020 |
| Molecular Formula | Be |
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Synopsis
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Beryllium - (Gr. beryllos.' beryl; also called Glucinium or Glucinum, Gr. glykys, sweet), Be; at. wt. 9.012182; at no. 4; m.p. 1287'C; b.p. 2471'C; sp. cyr. 1.948 (20'C): valence 2. Discovered as the oxide by Vauquelin in beryl and in emeralds in 1798. The metal was isolated in 1828 by Wobler and by Bussy independently by the action of potassium on beryllium chloride. Beryllium is found in some 30 mineral species, the most important of which are bertrandite, beryl, chrysoberyl, and phenacite. Aquamarine and emerald are precious forms of beryl. Beryl (3BeO - Al2O3-6SiO2) and bertrandite (4BeO - 2SiO2- H2O) are the most important commercial sources of the element and its compounds. Most of the metal is now prepared by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal. Beryllium metal did not become readily available to industry until 1957. The metal, steel gray in color, has many desirable properties. It is one of the lightest of all metals, and has one of the highest melting points of the light metals. Its modulus of elasticity is about one third greater than that of steel. It resists attack by concentrated nitric acid, has excellent thermal conductivity, and is nonmagnetic. It has a high permeability to X-rays, and when bombarded by alpha particles, as from radium or polonium, neutrons are produced in the ratio of about 30 neutrons/million alpha particles. At ordinary temperatures beryllium resists oxidation in air, although its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide. Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in producing beryllium copper which is extensively used for springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes, and nonsparking tools. It has found application as a structural material for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and communication satellites. It is being used in the windshield , brake discs, support beams, and other structural components of the space shuttle. Because beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays, ultra-thin Be-foil is finding use in X-ray lithography for reproduction of microminiature integrated circuits. Natural beryllium is made of 9Be and is stable. Eight other radioactive isotopes are known. Beryllium is used in nuclear reactors as a reflector or moderator for it has a low thermal neutron absorption cross section. It is used in gyroscopes, computerparts and instruments where flatness and stiffness, and dimensional stability are required. The oxide has a very high melting point and is also used in nuclear work and ceramic applications. Beryllium and its salts are toxic and should be handled with the greatest of care. Beryllium and its compounds should not be tasted to verify the sweetish nature of beryllium (as did early experimenters). The metal, its alloys, and its salts can be handled safely if certain work codes are observed, but no attempt should be made to work with beryllium before becoming familiar with proper safeguards. Beryllium metal is available at a cost of about $2.50/o, (99.5% pure). |
| Use | SOURCE OF NEUTRONS WHEN BOMBARDED WITH ALPHA PARTICLES, YIELDS ABOUT 30 NEUTRONS PER MILLION ALPHA PARTICLES: HARDENING OF COPPER; MFR OF NONSPARKING ALLOY FOR TOOLS; MFR OF LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOYS /BERYL/ SPACE OPTICS, MISSILE FUEL AND SPACE VEHICLES X-RAY WINDOW COMPONENT OF ALLOYS-EG, WITH COPPER, NEUTRON MODERATOR IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS & TEST REACTORS, HEAT SINK MATERIAL IN AIRCRAFT BRAKES, MATERIAL IN MFR OF AEROSPACE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS, MATERIAL IN MFR OF MIRRORS USED IN SPACE OPTICS, METEORITE & HEAT SHIELDING MATERIAL FOR SPACECRAFT, SOLID ROCKET FUEL Used in the production of brass. Navigational systems, aircraft/satellite structures, and missile parts. |
| Consumption Patterns | FABRICATED PRODUCTS FROM ALLOYS & BERYLLIUM METAL FOR ELECTRICAL USES (OTHER THAN COMPONENTS), 37%; NUCLEAR REACTORS, 19%; AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS, 18%; ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, 16%; OTHER USES, 10% (1977) As an alloy and metal in nuclear reactors and aerospace applications, 40%; as an alloy and oxide in electrical equipment, 35%; as an alloy and oxide in electronic components, 17%; and as compounds and metal in other applications, 8% (1986). |
| Apparent Color | GRAY METAL, CLOSE-PACKED HEXAGONAL STRUCTURE; A GRAYISH-WHITE, HARD LIGHT METAL |
| Odor | Odorless |
| Boiling Point | 2970 Deg C |
| Melting Point | 1287 DEG C |
| Molecular Weight | 9.0121 |
| Density | 1.85 at 20 deg C |
| Sensitivity Data | Soluble beryllium salts are directly irritating to skin and mucous membranes. |
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Chemical and Physical Properties |
HEAT CAPACITY AT CONSTANT PRESSURE: (30 DEG C) 0.437 CAL/G/DEG C; LATENT HEAT OF FUSION: 3.5 KCAL/MOL; BRINELL HARDNESS: 60-125; HAS HIGH PERMEABILITY TO X-RAYS; ANISOTROPIC; CHEMICAL PROPERTIES SIMILAR TO ALUMINUM; METAL RESISTANT TO ATTACK BY ACID DUE TO FORMATION OF A THIN OXIDE FILM. DUCTILITY IS SUFFICIENT AT 1000 DEG C TO PERMIT BERYLLIUM TO BE SWAGED; REACTS WITH OTHER ELEMENTS ONLY AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES: AT 700 DEG C OXIDATION IS NOTICEABLE, AT 1000 DEG C, RAPID |
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Environmental Impact |
The influence of aerosol suspension from clothing on personal monitor exposure estimates was investigated in a beryllium facility. Samples of 100% cotton and 100% Nomex fabrics used at the beryllium facility were tested. The deposition of airborne beryllium into fabrics was significantly enchanced by electrostatic attraction on cotton but not on Nomex fabrics. Both fabrics collected more beryllium in motion than on stationary units. Personal monitors mounted in front of fabrics collected more beryllium when the fabrics were agitated than when monitors were placed in the positions of the nose and mouth. The air concentrations increased as fabric load increased, but leveled off at high fabric load concentrations. Resuspension from cotton was higher than from Nomex. Ressupension of aerosol from garments can cause erroneously high exposure measurements from chest mounted personal monitors. Workshirts worn by employees at a beryllium refinery resuspended beryllium containing dust. The old shirts resuspended significantly higher quantities of beryllium to the air than did the washed and unwashed new shirts. A considerable fraction of the Be measured in air was respirable. Fourteen dental casting alloys were analyzed for release of nickel and beryllium into acidic salivary soln in vitro. Corrosion rates at varying pH levels and time in soln were calc over a 120 day period and the possible significance of these rates to allergic reactions or other health hazards were postulated. When the beryllium levels were analyzed for these alloys they were much higher than expected. In each of the alloys, since the nickel cmpd was often 66-78% of the cmpd and the beryllium level a max of 2%, the differences in magnitude of nickel vs beryllium concn might be expected to be on the order of 30/1 or greater. The differences were closer to 8/1. Nickel and beryllium containing dental casting alloys have the potential to be a significant hazard to the lab technician, dentist and patient. |
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Environmental Fate |
ESTIMATES OF ABUNDANCE IN EARTH'S CRUST VARY FROM 2 TO 10 PPM. NATURAL ISOTOPES: 9 (100%); RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES (MASS NUMBERS): 6-8; 10-12. FOUND IN PHENACITE, CHRYSOBERYL PRECIOUS FORMS OF BERYL: EMERALD, AQUAMARINE. Beryllium is concentrated in silicate minerals relative to sulfides. In common crystalline rocks, the element is enriched in the feldspar minerals relative to ferromagnesium minerals and apparently replace the silicon ion; 85-95% of the total crystal beryllium may be bound in the feldspar structures. The greatest known concentrations of beryllium are found in certain pegmatite bodies, where crystals of beryl account for a few percent of the total pegmatite volume, and may be found in several of the strata of zoned dykes. The element is sometimes concentrated in hydrothermal veins, and some granitic rocks contain sufficient amounts to permit the crystallization of small amounts of beryl. CERTAIN FOSSIL FUELS CONTAIN BERYLLIUM CMPD, ACCOUNTING FOR THE PRESENCE OF BERYLLIUM IN SOME COMMUNITY AIR SAMPLES AND TISSUES OF CITY RESIDENTS. Ceramic artists can be exposed to many hazardous materials, generally related to dry clays, glazes and kiln use. Glazes can contain lead, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, boron, chromium, cobalt, cadmium, copper, vanadium and other materials which all have potential toxic effects. Beryllium enters the environment principally from coal combustion. Be contents in the ashes from a Czechoslovakian power plant were determined (coarse (> 20 mm) and fine (2.0 to 0.2 mm) fraction from dump, and fine (0.2 mm) fraction from electrostatic precipitators). Acidic and alkali aqueous extracts of these ashes contained various concentrations of Be (1 to 17% of total concentrations). Wastewater showned 3.15 and 3.4 ug Be/l. Thus, secondary long term beryllium pollution emerges from the slag and ash dumps. Soil concn generally range from 0.1-40 ppm, with the average around 6 ppm. Beryllium concentrations (dry weight) of 0.08 mg/kg in polished rice, 0.12 mg/kg in toasted bread, 0.17 mg/kg in potatoes, 0.24 mg/kg in tomatoes, and 0.33 mg/kg in head lettuce. Beryllium levels (ppm in ash) for different foodstuffs were: beans, 0.01; cabbage, 0.05; hen eggs (yolk) 0.01; milk, 0.02; mushrooms, 0.12; nuts, 0.01- 0.47; tomatos, 0.02; and baker's yeast, 0.02. In birch, aspen and willow beryllium content may rise as high as 3 mg/kg. Potatoes contain 0.17 mg/kg dry substance, tomatoes 0.24 mg/kg and head lettuce 0.33 mg/kg. Beryllium in root, stem, and leaf tissues of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L Md-609) plants grown in McMurtrey's nutrient solution with addition of 0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/l Be were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis using m/l 246 of beryllium trifluoroacetylacetonate chelates. The method was sensitive to about 4 pg of Be. The majority of Be was associated with tobacco roots (0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/l of Be were added to the solution were associated with 374, 427 and 4280 ug Be/g dry wt of tissue, respectively; leaves were associated with 2.14, 2.36 and 81.4 ug Be/g dry wt tissue respectively. ACCORDING TO STUDIES ON COWS WITH RADIOACTIVE BERYLLIUM, LESS THAN 0.002% OF INJECTED ACTIVITY WAS RECOVERED IN MILK. BIOLOGICAL HALF-LIFE IN MILK WAS 19 HR. Beryllium level reported in milk, 0.02 ppm in ash. FOOD NOT SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF HUMAN EXPOSURE NO EVIDENCE THAT BERYLLIUM IS MOVING FROM SOILS INTO FOOD OR FEED PLANTS IN AMOUNTS DETRIMENTAL. Humans: total body burden: 36 ug Beryllium; 24 ug Beryllium in soft tissue. Humans: Kidney; 0.2 ug beryllium/kg: liver; 1.6 ug beryllium/kg: muscle; 0.75 ug beryllium/kg: bone; 3.0 ug beryllium/kg: hair; 6.0-20.0 ug beryllium/kg Human: blood: 0.01 ug beryllium/l Humans: lung: 1x10+2 to 1x10+5 ug beryllium/l: blood: 0.02-3.0 ug beryllium/l: urine: 0.02-3.0 ug beryllium. The soft tissue burden of an adult is likely to be less than 20 ug and the skeletal burden about 30 ug. |
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Drinking Water Impact |
The authors reported the results of trace metal analysis of 1,577 drinking water samples. Beryllium was detected in 5.4% of the samples and concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 1.22 mg/l with a mean value of 0.19 ug/l. Analysis of surface, ground, and rain waters have shown that beryllium concentrations are well below 1.0 ug/l. It was reported that the maximum beryllium concentration in 20 rain water samples and 56 river water samples (from 5 different Australian rivers) was 0.18 ug/l. Even heavily polluted Rhine and Main rivers in Germany, the concentrations were below 0.02 ug/l. EFFL: BASED ON ENRICHMENTS RELATIVE TO COAL AS A FUNCTION OF FLY ASH PARTICLE SIZE, BERYLLIUM BEHAVIOR WAS BETWEEN A) LITTLE OR NO ENRICHMENT IN THE SMALL PARTICLE FRACTION & B) ENRICHMENTS INCR WITH DECR PARTICLE SIZE. |
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Disposal |
At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices. Beryllium (powder) waste should be converted into chemically inert oxides using incineration and particulate collection techniques. Recovery and recycle is an alternative to disposal for beryllium scrap and pickle liquors containing beryllium. PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS": There is no universal method of disposal that has been proved satisfactory for all carcinogenic compounds & specific methods of chem destruction published have not been tested on all kinds of carcinogen-containing waste. Summary of avail methods & recommendations given must be treated as guide only. PRECAUTIONS FOR "CARCINOGENS":small quantities of some carcinogens can be destroyed using chem reactions but no general rules can be given. As a general technique treatment with sodium dichromate in strong sulfuric acid can be used. The time necessary for destruction is seldom known but 1-2 days is generally considered sufficient when freshly prepd reagent is used. Carcinogens that are easily oxidizable can be destroyed with milder oxidative agents, such as sat soln of potassium permanganate in acetone, which appears to be a suitable agent for destruction of hydrazines or of compounds containing isolated carbon-carbon double bonds. Concn or 50% aqueous sodium hypochlorite can also be used as an oxidizing agent. Beryllium dust is a poor candidate for incineration. |
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Atmosphere |
URBAN AIR METAL PARTICLE CONCENTRATION IN THE US 1964-1965. POLLUTANT BERYLLIUM; AVERAGE CONCN LESS THAN 0.0005 UG/CU M; MAX CONCN 0.010 UG/CU M. At a beryllium extraction plant in Ohio, concentrations were approximately 2 mg/cu m over a 7 year period. Beryllium was present in 12% of 440 air samples analyzed from 16 cities. Concentrations ranged from 0.001 to 0.002 ug/cu m in urban areas and 0.00013 ug/cu m in more rural areas. |
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