Welding beryllium copper?

[Plasmatic]

Thought I'd post this for a friend.

A buddy of mine thinks he might have gotten a lungful of beryllium while silver soldering a beryllium copper piece. He says the doctors he talked to don't seem to know too much about occupational beryllium exposure, and are treating his symptoms like conventional pneumonia.

So, does anyone know anything about welding/silver soldering on the stuff? Any particular precautions that are normally taken? Temperature limits before the beryllium becomes excessively mobile in the presence of flux?

Thanks!

 

[Frank The Plumber]

Wouldn't this product have an OSHA hazards sheet? I think that is the very best place to start. If you know the manufacturer and have some numbers or products code you should be able to access this on line. Hope things work out well.

 

[CARS]

http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923079

Not too much info for the average person.

 

[trbomax]

Talked to my son about this ,he's a union fitter/welder,and the first thing he said was "berillium is bad ****".They have to have fresh air resperaters and limited time working with it. He wont do it. The condition is called berilliuosis,and is permanent,no cure or rehab for the damage.A couple guys in his local were working on a shut down at a berillium plant in oak harbor , oh,a while back and ended up with it,one is on o2 for the rest of his life.

 

[WNYflyer]

Thought I'd post this for a friend.

A buddy of mine thinks he might have gotten a lungful of beryllium while silver soldering a beryllium copper piece. He says the doctors he talked to don't seem to know too much about occupational beryllium exposure, and are treating his symptoms like conventional pneumonia.

So, does anyone know anything about welding/silver soldering on the stuff? Any particular precautions that are normally taken? Temperature limits before the beryllium becomes excessively mobile in the presence of flux?

Thanks!

Don't know much about it but lets just say I believe there is a Hospital in Philadephia that is the go to place for possible problems from Beryllium exposure.

Google Beryllium and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I think that maybe it.

I know about the facility trbomax is talking about and thankfully never had to go in there.

 

[Deltarat]

What contains this stuff? I sounds like something that needs to be avoided. It would be bad to try and weld on this stuff without knowing it is there.

 

[bjaspud]

Its BAD stuff. Don't take it lightly.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

I don't know anything about welding it, but we machine a lot of the stuff at work, I definitely try to keep my distance from the shavings.

 

[welder4956]

OSHA has some good information on hazards and prevention of health problems, as well as key facilities to contact for treatment. Print this and provide to the doctor asap:

http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19990902.html

 

[pro machine Engineering]

look up the MSDS sheet for it. It will have the information you need on its hazards

 

[trbomax]

I don't know anything about welding it, but we machine a lot of the stuff at work, I definitely try to keep my distance from the shavings.

The dust or very small particles from machineing are as bad as breathing the smoke from it.When they grind or drill it they wear disposable clothing /gloves with fresh air resperators. Not to be taken lightly in any form.

 

[coldfusion21]

The dust or very small particles from machineing are as bad as breathing the smoke from it.When they grind or drill it they wear disposable clothing /gloves with fresh air resperators. Not to be taken lightly in any form.

What about machining with coolant?

The last place I worked for final machined a part with two .875 BeCu bushings that we would press in and then machine to size (+/- .0003). We did this with a coated .375 endmill, so we had lots of little shavings that just got mixed in with the other Ti chips.

How dangerous/hazerdous is this sorta exposure?

 

[rlitman]

Chips aren't dangerous if they cannot get into your lungs. Grinding is even ok, IF it's done wet, but you don't want to encounter dust in the air.

One thing to keep in mind: BeCu is only about 1.5-2% beryllium. Much of the information out there is in regard to working with pure beryllium. There is a BIG difference.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Way back when, we used to T.I.G. repair injection molds that were beryllium copper.
That is t'ill I found out how bad of a health issue they were.Somehow managed not to contaminate myself.( I hope!) We did have a smoke extraction system at the time.
I wouldn't touch the **** ever again. Life is too short.
Look out for things with Phosphate in them. They also are deadly!

 

[Frank The Plumber]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

We use it at work as components in our injection moulds, usually as gibs under sliding components.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

The dust or very small particles from machineing are as bad as breathing the smoke from it.When they grind or drill it they wear disposable clothing /gloves with fresh air resperators. Not to be taken lightly in any form.

We only machine it in our enclosed VMC's and use a ton of flood coolant.

 

[Vinny]

I deal with this stuff in the form of Beryllium Oxide (BeO) on some microcircuits. It has certain heat capabilities you don't get with typical aluminum. Luckily, parts come clearly labeled with BEO written in big letters on the part and also all over accompanying docs.
Pretty much we avoid grinding it. This stuff gets in your lungs it can be bad is all I know. My boss knows guys who have been exposed to it. Said they just have a cough that won't go away. Check an MSDS on it, but remember, MSDS is a legal document first so possible symptoms and such will be exaggerated immensely.
EDIT: Reread the original post. BeO is used for high heat applications, so I doubt soldering would expose it to air, but than again, he's using BeCu which is a much weaker bond. Look into information regarding that, but unless he's been doing this everyday for a while I don't think he'd be showing that bad of symptoms. My boss told me guys who developed the coughs had been grinding this stuff on and off for years before noticing things were wrong.

 

[gorilla]

At the company that I used to work for we made springs from beryllium copper, we stopped using it because beryllium is a carcinogenic. We were told by our health and safety folks that breathing the dust was the hazard, that you could eat it and it wouldn't hurt you but the dust would mess you up.

 

[willymakeit]

There were carpenters trim hammers made out of this for a while. Overpriced and hazardous it looks like.

 

[Mechtech]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

Primary use for pure beryllium metal in x-ray systems. The pure metal is the only one strong and light enough to use that is also x-ray transparent. Also used in some research equipment due to rather unique qualities (being a light metal).

As far as exposure they tell me that of the total exposed population roughly 50% will develop a sensitivity to it and from that 50% of them will develop beryliosos, which is an extreme reaction to the beryllium dust in the lungs.

You can be sensitized with no other effects (like me) or you can develop the full blown problems. Either way if you have had occupational exposure you should be on a annual monitoring program. (OSHA requirement)

 

[Plasmatic]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'll pass the information on.

From what I understand, this was single incident having to silver solder a piece that broke back together, so if my friend's symptoms are anything related to the beryllium it would be the effect of acute exposure, not long-term exposure. That's why he is asking around to see if silver soldering on a piece would liberate enough beryllium to cause acute exposure.

For this application, my understanding is that the BeCu was used to form a grounding "finger" for where an electronic module joins into a larger device. BeCu is favored for this because it is springy and has good conductivity.

BeCu in non-ground-up, non-heated form seems to be at least vaguely safe -- I've seen it used for non-sparking, non-magnetic tools and even some musical instruments.

Thanks again!

 

[MBfreak]

Beryllium oxide components were used in high power electronics up to mid 80´s as heatsinks/insulators.
Excellent technical solution, but discontinued due to the very severe health hazard emanating from beryllium dust.
Stay well away from it.

Ola

 

[RotoRoss]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

Its used as the parent material in valve seats for titanium valves in race engines.
R

 

[KF5LCH]

I work at a ammunition plant. We use a pantload of BeCu tools. Most made by Berylco. About the only hammer or chisle you can use in a room full of open tritonal. . .

Cant say i've ever inhaled it tho.

 

[rlitman]

For this application, my understanding is that the BeCu was used to form a grounding "finger" for where an electronic module joins into a larger device. BeCu is favored for this because it is springy and has good conductivity.

Yup. It's used for that too. It is formed into a strip of connected fingers that gives a radio tight seal for electronic components (you may notice this when you open a computer).
It's also used as the gold plated springy wire in computer network and phone jacks.

 

[Capt Chrysler]

I work at a ammunition plant. We use a pantload of BeCu tools. Most made by Berylco. About the only hammer or chisle you can use in a room full of open tritonal. . .

Cant say i've ever inhaled it tho.

I working and old WW2 Ammo Plant. The bushings for the doors are made out of the stuff. Still grinding away 60 years later!


Capt. Chrysler

 

[Hephaestus29]

There was a big story about it on 20/20 or Dateline NBC, one of those investigative shows anyway that showed people who had worked around the stuff where dust was created were in bad shape!!!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

Hazmat and fire service. Some hand tools are made from it that are meant to be non-sparking.

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/hand_tools/nonsparking.html

 

[MarkIowa]

Where do we use this nasty ****?

Also was used for golf clubs. I have an old Ping Anser putter, my favorite, that is made out of beryllium copper.