If you were an Ames Laboratory employee prior to the mid-1950s, you should be receiving a letter from the Department of Energy inviting you to have a blood test to determine if you are sensitized to beryllium. Beryllium was known to be used in Gilman Hall and in Wilhelm Hall on the Iowa State University campus as part of work conducted in support of the Manhattan Project and as post-war work to improve the purification and processing of uranium and thorium. Some people who may have been exposed to beryllium or beryllium compounds during that period may develop chronic beryllium disease, or CBD. People are exposed to beryllium through inhalation of beryllium mists, dusts or fumes. The disease affects the lungs, but can be treated.

If you were a non-Ames Laboratory ISU employee working in Gilman Hall during this same time period, you also should be receiving a letter from the DOE. In addition, if you know of any former Ames Lab or ISU employees who may have been exposed to beryllium, please pass this information along to them.

Please follow the instructions in the letter if you want to proceed with the blood test. If you have any questions, call the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education toll free at 1-866-812-6703. ORISE is operating the Former Beryllium Workers Medical Surveillance Program for DOE. You can visit the ORISE Web site at http://www.orau.gov/cer/default.htm. Other information is available at http://www.orau.gov/cer/BMSP_pro/be-facts.htm. Ames Laboratory also has established a Web site that contains beryllium information such as factsheets on the disease and the testing program. The address for the Ames Lab Web site is http://www.ameslab.gov. Click on "Beryllium" in the list at the bottom of the page.

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