Pure beryllium is a hard grayish metal that is a chemical component of certain kinds of rocks. The mineral rocks bertrandite and beryl are mined commercially for the recovery of beryllium. Beryllium is also present in a variety of compounds in coal, soil, and volcanic dust. Most of the beryllium ore mined is converted into copper alloys. Beryllium is important in nuclear-reactor technology as a cladding material for nuclear fuel elements due to its excellence as a neutron reflector and moderator.
Beryllium oxide is the second largest production item.
It is used as a base material in ceramics and in nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy has used beryllium metal and ceramics in weapons, reactor moderators and reflectors, and as fuel element cladding. Beryllium metal is used in the reactor at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and occasionally in research. The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment remediation project involves the removal, sampling, containerization, transportation, testing, conversion, and storage of beryllium salts. Beryllium particles introduced into broken skin can cause dermatitis and ulcers or nodules that sometimes must be surgically excised.