CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE AMONG BERYLLIUM EXPOSED WORKERS

铍的职业空气标准的起源是基于 其他重金属如砷、铅和汞的毒性， 修改以反映铍的较低原子量和关注 更大的毒性。 没有关于健康结果的流行病学研究， 暴露被用来达成共识的初步建议空气 标准为2ug/m3。 近50年后，这仍然是目前的空气 OHSA和DOE在工作场所执行的标准。 最新研究 在研究铍中毒和铍暴露时， 暴露，发现随着暴露的增加，疾病也会增加。在 此外，还在一个 不同时检查暴露水平。 慢性铍病现在可以用增殖诊断 肺灌洗液或外周血淋巴细胞检测。 然而，后续研究，以表征的临床意义， 需要扩散测试的阳性结果。 这个项目 将调查各种可能的风险-响应关系， 接触测量，包括化学和物理形态，铍 致敏和临床疾病。 宿主因素将在 结合暴露数据，更好地解决主机 易感性 最后，铍病的自然历史， 将确定增殖试验呈阳性的个人。

The origin of the occupational air standard for beryllium was based on the toxicity of other heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury and modified to reflect beryllium's lower atomic weight and concern about its greater toxicity. No epidemiological studies of health outcomes and exposure were used to reach a consensus on the initial recommended air standard of 2ug/m3. Almost 50 years later this remains the current air level that OHSA and DOE enforce in the work place. Most recent studies looking at beryllium disease and exposure have used surrogates of exposure and found increased disease with increased exposure. In addition, the contributions of host factors have been examined in an unvariate fashion without simultaneously examining exposure levels. Chronic beryllium disease can now be diagnosed using proliferation lymphocyte tests from either the lung lavage fluid or peripheral blood. However, follow-up studies to characterize the clinical significance of positive findings of the proliferation tests are needed. This project will investigate possible exposure-response relationships for various measures of exposure, including chemical and physical form, beryllium sensitization and clinical disease. Host factors will be examined in conjunction with exposure data to better address the issue of host susceptibility. Finally, the natural history of beryllium disease in individuals with positive proliferation tests will be determined.