A Case of Beryllium Disease

Beryllium disease was first described in 1933 by Weber and Engelhardt working in Germany, and has since been reported from many other countries. In Great Britain it is rare, but in the United States of America more than 500 cases have been reported. Seventy-five per cent, of these cases arose in beryl smelting plants and during fluorescent lamp manu facturing where, for a time, a phosphor containing 13% beryllium by weight was used. The three principal syndromes of the disease, namely, chronic pulmonary, acute pulmonary, and dermal, have been described in patients in this coun try (Agate, 1948; Royston, 1949; Lederer and Savage, 1954; Sneddon, 1955; Rogers, 1957). The reported incidence of the chronic pulmonary type of disease has been low possibly because, in the absence of epidemiological evidence, it is not sus pected. A further difficulty is the absence of good diagnostic tests that can safely be applied. The first patients who had this form of beryllium disease in