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. 2025 May 29.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003463. Online ahead of print.

An updated mortality study of beryllium workers, 1925-2020

Tiffani A Fordyce  1 , Megan J Leonhard  2 , Alesia M Jung  1 , Jessica Lin  2 , Heather Watson  3 , Gregory H Heldt  4 , Paolo Boffetta  5
Affiliations

An updated mortality study of beryllium workers, 1925-2020

Tiffani A Fordyce et al. J Occup Environ Med. .

Abstract

Objective: Update and expand a cohort of beryllium workers, to examine risks associated with beryllium solubility and mortality from lung cancer, all cancers, all causes, as well as other neoplasms (kidney, bladder, central nervous system) and other non-malignant respiratory disease (ONMRD).

Methods: Conducted a retrospective cohort study of 17,149 workers employed in 15 United States (US) facilities (1925-2020). Data were analyzed using standardized mortality ratios referencing the US population and Cox models.

Results: Lung cancer mortality was elevated among mixed beryllium (soluble and insoluble-exposed) workers hired pre-1955, but not among insoluble-only workers during any period. ONMRD mortality was significantly elevated in the total cohort, driven by mortality among mixed-exposure facilities and among workers hired pre-1955.

Conclusions: No increase in lung cancer or other mortality for any timeframe for workers at insoluble-only beryllium facilities was observed.

Keywords: beryllium; epidemiology; lung cancer; mortality; occupational health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest : A co-investigator on the project (Dr. Constantine Dumas) and one of the authors (GH) are employed by Materion, a beryllium manufacturing company. Authors PB and TF both previously consulted with Materion and Materion has provided additional financial support for the next phase of this study.

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