When the metal is manufactured or machined, a toxic dust is created that can cause a potentially fatal lung disease. Numerous people living near beryllium plants in Lorain, O., and Reading, Pa., were diagnosed as having the disease in the 1940s and 1950s, even though they had never worked at the facilities. No neighbor of the Elmore plant has been diagnosed as having the disease, but no study has been conducted. Ohio Citizen Action said it is time for Brush to test Elmore plant neighbors for the disease. Ms. Ogdahl said.
Blood tests can determine whether someone has had a reaction to beryllium dust.
Further tests are required to determined whether someone has beryllium disease. The 650-employee Elmore plant is in rural Ottawa County, with few homes nearby, and Brush Wellman maintains that blood testing of residents is not needed. The company monitors the air around the plant by using several sampling stations. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency records show that the plant has exceeded monthly air pollution limits for beryllium dust nine times in the last 25 years. Ohio Citizen Action wants the company to implement a warning system, perhaps sirens, to alert neighbors of accidents that could release beryllium dust.