Assessment of beryllium disease risk in pre-selected BC industries

Occupational And Environmental Health

The overall goal of this project is to identify and, working with industry stakeholders, engage workplaces in BC where beryllium exposure is likely and to initiate screening of this workforce for beryllium sensitization. Our experienced beryllium exposure assessment team from National Jewish Health (NJH), the leading beryllium research institution in the world, will spearhead the worksite evaluations. A sub-population of workers at risk for exposure will be identified and recruited for voluntary screening using the clinically available beryllium-specific lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). Additionally, targeted recruitment of cases of sarcoidosis with a work history including the BC industries with possible beryllium exposure will occur in the respiratory and occupational medicine clinics of UBC/Vancouver General Hospital. BeLPT testing will enable us, for the first time, to identify workers sensitized to beryllium and confirm the risk of exposure, as well as begin to identify work processes and materials where CBD-prevention interventions may be possible. This strategy can be described as a prevention pyramid.It capitalizes on the power of the sarcoidosis or CBD sentinel case approach to prevention with a ‘top down’ focus and our previous epidemiologic work identifying industries at potential risk with a cohort or ‘bottom up’ approach identifying exposed workers and the beryllium sensitized sub-set of that cohort. Objective 1. Identify two to four BC workplaces (number depends upon size of the workforce in each workplace) with likely beryllium exposure where Management may be amenable to onsite industrial hygiene assessment and engagement of their workforce in the screening component of study. Objective 2. Following completion of Objective 1, provide beryllium risk communication for workers in these industries. Objective 3. Following completion of objective 2, initiate screening of this population utilizing the BeLPT and in symptomatic workers chest radiograph and spirometry. Objective 4. Identify workers with sarcoidosis within these industries and offer BeLPT testing to determine whether a CBD diagnosis was missed. e.g. flyers in clinics, workplace, unions e.g. IBEW, IAM and spread by word of mouth.

Report:  "Industries and Occupations with Potential Beryllium Exposure"