Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1996 Oct;104(Suppl 5):949–951. doi: 10.1289/ehp.96104s5949

United Kingdom Beryllium Registry: mortality and autopsy study.

W J Williams 1
PMCID: PMC1469707  PMID: 8933040

Abstract

This report is based on 30 deaths from chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in the United Kingdom with details of 19 autopsies. The majority were fluorescent lamp workers and machinists who died from respiratory failure. There were no cases of lung cancer. The survival times ranged from less than 1 to 29 years and was longest in machinists. All of the workers showed interstitial pulmonary fibrosis with varying degrees of cystic change. The majority showed hyalinized, and a few active sarcoid-type, granulomas. Extrathoracic granulomas, as in a U.K. sarcoid autopsy series, were rare. A notable difference was the absence of myocardial involvement in CBD compared to an incidence of 20% in the sarcoid autopsies. The detection of beryllium in the criteria for diagnosis is emphasized and the cases classified as definite include 12 of 19 positive analysis, 6 of 19, negative or unavailable analysis. The remaining case was classified as dubious because, despite a positive analysis, granulomas were absent. The main differential diagnosis is sarcoidosis.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

950Figure 1.
on p.950
950Figure 2.
on p.950
950Figure 3.
on p.950

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BARNETT R. N., BROWN D. S., CADORNA C. B., BAKER G. P. Beryllium disease with death from renal failure. Conn Med. 1961 Mar;25:142–147. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CHESNER C. Chronic pulmonary granulomatosis in residents of a community near a beryllium plant; 3 autopsied cases. Ann Intern Med. 1950 Jun;32(6):1028–1048. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-32-6-1028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. HALL T. C., WOOD C. H., STOECKLE J. D., TEPPER L. B. Case data from the beryllium registry. AMA Arch Ind Health. 1959 Feb;19(2):100–103. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. JONES WILLIAMS W. The nature and origin of Schaumann bodies. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1960 Jan;79:193–201. doi: 10.1002/path.1700790126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. KLINE E. M., MOIR T. W. Long-term experience with beryllium disease; a report of twenty patients. AMA Arch Ind Health. 1959 Feb;19(2):104–109. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Karkinen-Jäskeläinen M., Mättä K., Pasila M., Saxén L. Pulmonary berylliosis: report on a fatal case. Br J Dis Chest. 1982 Jul;76(3):290–297. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(82)90056-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kreiss K., Mroz M. M., Zhen B., Martyny J. W., Newman L. S. Epidemiology of beryllium sensitization and disease in nuclear workers. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1993 Oct;148(4 Pt 1):985–991. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/148.4_Pt_1.985. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kühne W., Ahlendorf W., Hoffmann K. Chronische Berylliose der Lungen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Pathomorphologie. Z Erkr Atmungsorgane. 1975 Jun;143(3):263–269. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LIEBEN J., JACKSON A. J. Beryllium oxide poisoning. Ind Med Surg. 1953 Nov;22(11):507–509. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. MCCALLUM R. I., RANNIE E., VERITY C. Chronic pulmonary berylliosis in a female chemist. Br J Ind Med. 1961 Apr;18:133–142. doi: 10.1136/oem.18.2.133. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Matilla A., Galera H., Pascual E., Carapeto R. Chronic berylliosis. Br J Dis Chest. 1973 Oct;67(4):308–314. doi: 10.1016/s0007-0971(73)80003-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. NORRIS G. F., PEARD M. C. Berylliosis: report of two cases, with special reference to the patch test. Br Med J. 1963 Feb 9;1(5327):378–382. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5327.378. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SLAVIN P. Diffuse pulmonary granulomatosis in young women following exposure to beryllium compounds in the manufacture of radio tubes; further observations and report of nine additional cases. Am Rev Tuberc. 1952 Feb;65(2):142–158. doi: 10.1164/art.1952.65.2.142. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. SNEDDON I. B. Berylliosis: a case report. Br Med J. 1955 Jun 18;1(4928):1448–1450. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.4928.1448. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sarkar T. K., Jones E. R., Lutwyche V. U. The diagnosis of beryllium lung disease. Br J Dis Chest. 1971 Jul;65:182–185. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(71)90022-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sprince N. L., Kazemi H., Hardy H. L. Current (1975) problem of differentiating between beryllium disease and sarcoidosis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;278:654–664. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb47079.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. WOOD C. H., BALL K. P., TEARE N. D. A case of beryllium disease. Br J Ind Med. 1958 Jul;15(3):209–212. doi: 10.1136/oem.15.3.209. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Williams W. J. Diagnostic criteria for chronic beryllium disease (CBD) based on the UK registry 1945-1991. Sarcoidosis. 1993 Mar;10(1):41–43. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Williams W. J., Wallach E. R. Laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LAMMS) analysis of beryllium, sarcoidosis and other granulomatous diseases. Sarcoidosis. 1989 Sep;6(2):111–117. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Williams W. J., Williams W. R. Value of beryllium lymphocyte transformation tests in chronic beryllium disease and in potentially exposed workers. Thorax. 1983 Jan;38(1):41–44. doi: 10.1136/thx.38.1.41. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES