Los Alamos warns of beryllium exposure

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Current and former employees and visitors are being advised they may have been exposed to beryllium at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Letters were mailed to nearly 2,000 recipients Wednesday, CNN reported.

Initial concern about possible exposure to the metal used in nuclear weapons and reactors -- as well as in bicycle frames and golf clubs -- was raised in November, when a box containing beryllium was received at the laboratory's short-term storage facility, said Kevin Roark, a spokesman for Los Alamos.

"The package appeared to have damage or degradation of the packing materials, which prompted us to test the area for additional contamination," he said.

While surface contamination was found, the box was not the source, which remains undetermined, Roark said. Beryllium is hazardous only when its fine, particulate form is inhaled.

Because the contaminated area hasn't been tested for beryllium since 2001, all who entered the restricted-access area since then are being alerted, he said.

"It's just one building at one technical area," Roark told CNN, noting that the laboratory covers 36 square miles and has nearly 10,000 employees.

The laboratory said about 240 employees and 1,650 visitors were potentially at risk.

There are no reports of sickness and "we don't expect anyone to be ill," Roark said.