Treatment
There is no cure for berylliosis; the goals of treatment are to reduce symptoms and slow the progression of disease.Although the evidence that stopping exposure to beryllium decreases progression of the disease is limited, it is still considered to be an accepted approach to treatment in any stage of disease.People with early stages of disease, without lung function abnormalities or clinical symptoms, are periodically monitored with physical exams, pulmonary function testing and radiography.Once clinical symptoms or significant abnormalities in pulmonary function testing appear, treatments include oxygen and oral corticosteroids and whatever supportive therapy is required. Outcomes
Overall mortality rates are 5–38%. Epidemiology
The number of workers in the United States exposed to beryllium vary but has been estimated to be as high as 800,000 during the 1960s and 1970s. A more recent study from 2004 estimated the number of exposed workers in the United States to be around 134,000.The rate of workers becoming sensitized to beryllium varies based on genetics and exposure levels. In one study researchers found the prevalence of beryllium sensitization to range from 9 - 19% depending on the industry. Many workers who are found to be sensitive to beryllium also meet the diagnostic criteria for CBD. In one study of nuclear workers, among those who were sensitized to beryllium, 66% were found to have CBD as well. The rate of progression from beryllium sensitization to CBD has been estimated to be approximately 6-8% per year.
At that time, most construction trades and industries were unaware of the potential risks associated with beryllium exposure.It occasionally killed early workers in nuclear weapons design, such as Herbert L. Anderson.Beryllium sensitivity testing was first performed as a cutaneous beryllium patch test in the early 1950s, but was discontinued due to the test stimulating sensitization or aggravating existing chronic beryllium disease. : 115 In the 1990s, the DOE began screening employees using the BeLPT test in facilities where beryllium was used, in order to take preventive measures against beryllium exposure; somewhat alarmingly, clerical staff who were never involved in handling the material had developed asymptomatic sensitivities.The 1954 Isaac Asimov short story "Sucker Bait" is largely concerned with a space colony dying of Beryllium poisoning. References
External links

ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Beryllium Toxicity U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
CDC – Research on Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic
Beryllium Network
Health-cares.net
Instant insight from the Royal Society of Chemistry examining the molecular basis of chronic beryllium disease
Rosner, David; Markowitz, Gerald E. (February 1987). "Ch. 7: Salem Sarcoid:The Origins of Beryllium Disease". Dying for work: workers safety and health in twentieth-century America. Indiana University Press. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-253-31825-1.