Research Program on Beryllium Oxide Analysis and Toxicity

The carcinogenic activity of BeO has been shown to be a function of the temperature to which the beryllium has been exposed. Examination of the toxicological properties of various rocket exhaust products indicate that some products resemble high-fired BeO in their lack of carcinogenic activity, while others contain considerable quantities of water soluble beryllium and vary in toxicity. In analyzing blood samples it is necessary to obtain the total Be concentration although as mentioned some forms are not as reactive as others. Thus the research involved devising reaction conditions for the conversion of low-fired BeO and high-fired BeO such that the reaction mixture was in a form suitable for the gas chromatographic measurement of beryllium. Also discussed is the applicability of the technique for the conversion of the oxides in blood and tissue matrices.