Beryllium?
- Thread starter no704
- Start date
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It's one of the most toxic elements. What are you using it for?
I wouldnt even bring it into my shop
I wouldnt even bring it into my shop
American Locomotive
Well-known member
Farm it out to a qualified and capable shop. It is extremely toxic when in powder/dust/smoke form (casting & machining). It's so toxic that even just touching a chunk of beryllium metal can irritate your skin.
Hard pass.
Hard pass.
nickelTwin
Well-known member
Are you planning to do this at work or home?
I can't see doing anything like that in my home shop.
I can't see doing anything like that in my home shop.
4xdog
Well-known member
We had a beryillium section of the machine shop at the research institute where I started my career. Even 40+ years ago it was controlled, limited access and all kinds of procedures and safety protocols.
I wouldn't dream of working with the metal without ALL the bells and whistles to do it right.
I wouldn't dream of working with the metal without ALL the bells and whistles to do it right.
Divcod
Well-known member
Dont mess wit it. 30+years ago we cleaned a maching plant and most of the equipment becam Haz. Waste
ZRX61
Well-known member
Walk away
danski0224
Well-known member
Should be fiiiiiiiiine.....
Just use air from the PVC air lines to blow everything off.
Just use air from the PVC air lines to blow everything off.
Shiftless
Well-known member
Making golf putter heads?
Back in the day, some of them were made from an alloy of beryllium and copper.
As others have already said, Beryllium is super toxic. Don’t do it.
Back in the day, some of them were made from an alloy of beryllium and copper.
As others have already said, Beryllium is super toxic. Don’t do it.
Tyvek suit, respirator, cover entire machine, plenty of ventilation, very carefully clean up. Double bag waste. Not sure how you dispose of waste. I did it in the navy yard, had a environment hygienist with me the entire time with air monitoring, was a big deal. I was the only qualified person out of 400 machinists because I was respirator certified. 
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I think I would grow a beard and suddenly have breathing difficulty if I heard that project was coming.Tyvek suit, respirator, cover entire machine, plenty of ventilation, very carefully clean up. Double bag waste. Not sure how you dispose of waste. I did it in the navy yard, had a environment hygienist with me the entire time with air monitoring, was a big deal. I was the only qualified person out of 400 machinists because I was respirator certified.
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Lassen Forge
Well-known member
Casting? Machining? Pure Beryllium??? You mean you're going to have beryllium fumes in your work environment?? Creaing beryllium dust? Why???
I would build a separate building, double negative pressured, and expect to scrap as hazmat EVERYTHING used in the process (building, machinery, tools, the moon suit you need to protect yourself, etc.).
Even someone like me who dealt with all kinds of hazmat would give that a hard pass.
I would build a separate building, double negative pressured, and expect to scrap as hazmat EVERYTHING used in the process (building, machinery, tools, the moon suit you need to protect yourself, etc.).
Even someone like me who dealt with all kinds of hazmat would give that a hard pass.
rlitman
Well-known member
Whoa, are you nuts? Beryllium is way more reactive than even magnesium and makes aluminum look damned near inert. ANY oxygen in the casting environment will create beryllium oxide, which will turn into dust and smoke and well, kill you, slowly. But even if you can purge all the oxygen, any nitrogen present will create beryllium nitride at casting temperatures with the same end results.
danski0224
Well-known member
All this negativity.
I can't believe it.
Where is the DIY spirit?
I can't believe it.
Where is the DIY spirit?
Shiftless
Well-known member
You might be less at risk if you got a job unloading boxcars of loose asbestos fiber with a shovel while wearing regular work clothes and a bandana for lung protection.
( My FIL witnessed this happening ~75 years ago )
( My FIL witnessed this happening ~75 years ago )
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I haven't seen us come together on something so consistently.
dcg9381
Well-known member
Clearly he's building a rocket ship. 
cvairwerks
Well-known member
The highly dangerous things I won't mess with, in order:
1. Beryllium
2. Asbestos
3. Great White Sharks
4. PVC air lines
5. Badgers
6. Pissed off wife
and so on.
And I mess with explosives almost daily at work....
1. Beryllium
2. Asbestos
3. Great White Sharks
4. PVC air lines
5. Badgers
6. Pissed off wife
and so on.
And I mess with explosives almost daily at work....
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
Pussies.
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
Someone will be posting about the nanny state anytime now.....
WNYflyer
Well-known member
Really can't add much other than a couple of former co-workers were "potentially" exposed to dust probably going back better than 20 years ago. Once they were informed of their potential exposure they made annual trips to University of Pennsylvania Medicine for screenings, thankfully to date I have not heard that they have tested positive for any problems.
DonovanSpeed
Well-known member
No offense, but maybe you’re misunderstanding what you’re looking to work with. Are sure it’s not a beryllium copper alloy? If it is, I have plenty of firsthand experience. If is is pure Beryllium (and this is a personal/non-business project) there is an easy answer- you won’t be able to source it (legally) unless you’re extremely wealthy and can wait a year for permitting and environmental studies.
rlitman
Well-known member
Smoking an unfiltered cigarette at the same time is part of the job description. And I do believe that's (a little) less risky.
Clearly he's building a rocket ship.
The Space Shuttle main tank was an aluminum beryllium alloy in later generations of the tank. But still not plain beryllium. I have seen and handled a beryllium bicycle, and yeah, that was crazy light (it made a titanium frame feel heavy - this was before the days of carbon fiber in the industry).
I'm assuming you're familiar with the book "Ignition!"The highly dangerous things I won't mess with, in order:
1. Beryllium
2. Asbestos
3. Great White Sharks
4. PVC air lines
5. Badgers
6. Pissed off wife
and so on.
And I mess with explosives almost daily at work....
You should read the "Things I won't work with" blog by Derek Lowe. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-dioxygen-difluoride
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
I've seen this - twice - once when I was a little kid, my granddad used to blow our brake drums of all that nasty chalky dust, assigned that crappy job to me at about age 5, and when I started hacking up a lung waaaaaay back then, he tied a damp bandana around my face and said "this will help". Mind you, he died of Meso when he was 70, and I (at 61) have lung issues... The second time was working some ROP "youth employer" scam in high school restoring houses (at least I learned lath and plaster - cool skill I still use!), and one rather cute (and probably dead) stud duck of all of 18 was cutting sheets of asbestos to put behind kitchen backsplashes and gas fired heater rebuilds - ... with a sidewinder saw... dust effing EVERYWHERE and his "respiratory protection" was (diggit) a wet bandana around his mouth and nose...
Did I mention I knew parents of friends when I was a kid who smoked KENT cigs with their patented Micronite filters, which were ******* pure asbestos, and are all now dead as doornails from that... Should have smoked them using pure beryllium cig holders....
At least I know if I get caught in a fire, my lungs won't burn from all the damned asbestos dust over the years..... there ARE times asbestos is a great thing, but by God you gotta be careful with it!!
Half-fast eddie
Well-known member
Interesting blog. Makes one wonder what’s being experimented in lots of dark labs around the world.
Chance
Well-known member
You need to read https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1024 on the rules for handling beryllium. Known carcinogen, known to cause lung damage, requires air monitoring standards, medical examinations...
Chance
Well-known member
The only place I can think of where people mess with machining beryllium metal is to make the neutron reflectors in nuclear weapons. Hard to imagine what other use would be worth the risk.
driftpin
Well-known member
I think it was Ross who made two beryllium bikes for racing, they were stolen and I don't know if they were ever recovered. This was in the early 1990's.
litespeed of TN made the frames for Ti bikes, for the manufacturers who wanted them, for either racing or sales to the consumer marketplace. I own one of the first litespeed bicycles built.
That was 30 years ago. I didn't mind it took a whole day to do less than 30 minutes work. I thought it was great, I had multiple air monitors and the hygienist had them too. Beryllium copper is easy to machine and I don't recall any dust.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Beryllium copper is a different animal than pure Beryllium
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Drill Sergeant Arc
Well-known member
When we were in our vocational school back in the late 70’s they had the brilliant idea to have us demolish the old welding booths and then build new ones. We busted out the old asbestos walls and then later cut ones for the new booths using a skill saw while wearing the most flimsy particle masks money can buy. I wonder how many of us have died so far?
dcg9381
Well-known member
The highly dangerous things I won't mess with, in order:
1. Beryllium
2. Asbestos
3. Great White Sharks
4. PVC air lines
5. Badgers
6. Pissed off wife
and so on.
And I mess with explosives almost daily at work....
Clearly those are not in order of most danger.
What about Magnesium?
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Magneseum doesn't even compare
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Alloys are different than pure. Pure is wildly dangerous. Low content alloys are only 2-3%
rlitman
Well-known member
And it's used in the James Webb mirrors, and the oxide was used a lot for high voltage insulators where high thermal conductivity was needed (I have some high power MOSFETs with BeO insulators), but that use is being phased out. BeO is sometimes found in magnetrons (in microwave ovens) for the same properties.
I should've read the OP - That's crazy, but I'm sure it can be done somehow. Keep us in the loop @no704!
I didn't know about the thermal conductivity. I have heard of its use in spacecraft/satellites.
Check out this Aluminum - Beryllium alloy (AlBeMet). Nothing special until you see the specific modulus (stiffness per weight). It's unreal.
tdkkart
Well-known member
My father worked in the engine room of a destroyer when he was in the Navy, all his buddies that worked with him
have died of asbestosis, he gets checked at least twice a year and they keep finding no sign of it in him.
pizza
Well-known member
this has to be a troll post. lol
love all the responses though. some entertaining nuggets.
love all the responses though. some entertaining nuggets.