The result was every known ailment associated with beryllium, including lung cancer. Airborne levels of beryllium were so high that people living 5 kilometers from the plant were being exposed to what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's highest acceptable level. Then in 1990, an explosion and fire at the Ulbinsky factory sent a plume of beryllium dust wafting over the city and beyond. More than 120,000 were exposed to the metal's dust and fumes. A year ago, Newman and an epidemiologist arrived to see if they could design a surveillance program.
Treatment is problematic.
Availability of prednisone is very limited, and oxygen therapy is unheard of. But the need is urgent, because the younger the person with CBD, the more aggressive the treatment must be. And in Ust-Kamenogorsk, there are children allergic to beryllium. And you can't live without them. The aerospace industry is just barely waking up to the hazard.