A novel alternative to environmental monitoring to detect workers at risk for beryllium exposure-related health effects

Objectives To describe a methodology for surveillance and monitoring of beryllium (Be) exposure using biological monitoring (BM) to complement environmental monitoring (EM). Methods Eighty-three Israeli dental technicians (DTs, mean age 41.6[±12.4] yrs) and 80 American nuclear machining workers (NMs, 54.9[±11] years) were enrolled. BM was carried out by analyzing particle size (laser technique) and shape (image analysis) in 131/163 (80.3%) induced sputum (IS) samples (Dipa Analyser, Donner Tech, Israel). EM was carried out only in the US (Sioutas impactor, SKC, Inc.). Pulmonary function testing and IS retrieval were done by conventional methods. Sixty-three Israeli workers and 37 American workers were followed-up for2 years. Results BM by IS indicated that a >92% accumulation of Conclusions BM is more informative than EM in the surveillance and monitoring of workers in Be industries. The study was supported by the Bi-National Science Foundation (Israel-USA Proposal 2005060).