Chronic Beryllium Disease: Overview

Beryllium sensitization is an "allergic" condition to beryllium that can develop after a person breathes beryllium dust or fumes. Some researchers think it might also occur if beryllium penetrates the skin through an open cut or from a beryllium splinter.

In individuals with beryllium sensitization, the immune system sees beryllium as a "foreign invader," and builds an "army" of cells in the bloodstream that are prepared to react to beryllium wherever they see it in the body. These cells can be found in the blood using a blood test called the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT).

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a lung condition that can likewise develop after a person breathes beryllium dust or fumes, causing the immune system to react against beryllium as a person with beryllium sensitization similarly would. When an individual is diagnosed with CBD, it generally means that the resulting battle between the immune system and the beryllium particles leads to scarring (called granulomas) in the lungs.