关键词：铍；职业暴露；采样；航空
摘 要：Sampling and analysis of beryllium in the workplace can be more challenging than for many other metals. For starters, the occupational exposure limits for beryllium tend to be in the microgram or sub-microgram per cubic meter range, rather than in the milligram range. Some forms of beryllium, especially beryllium oxide, are not fully dissolved in many commonly used sample preparation methods. And, in many cases, interpreting results for beryllium samples is difficult as well, particularly if most results come back below the laboratory's reporting limit and you dont have the luxury of collecting enough samples for a nonparametric statistical treatment. At the time this article was written, new rulemakings were under consideration at OSHA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that would propose changes to occupational exposure limits for beryllium. Given these developments, its a good time to review the tools and methods available to IHs for assessing beryllium air and surface contamination in the workplace--what's new and different, and what's tried and true.