RICHLAND — An advisory panel believes not enough workers on the Hanford nuclear reservation are being tested for exposure to beryllium.
According to the Hanford Advisory Board, beryllium is a greater safety risk than radiation, based on the number of affected workers.
The Energy Department advisory panel issued that recommendation during meetings Thursday and Friday in Portland, Ore.
So far, 27 Hanford workers have been diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease, an incurable lung ailment. Six of those cases have been diagnosed in the past two years. Exposure to particles of beryllium also can increase the risk of lung cancer.
Beryllium was used at Hanford in making fuel for reactors that produced plutonium for nuclear weapons, and the dust in some buildings still contains particles of the element.
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