Beryllium - ₄Be: biological information

Beryllium has no biological role. In fact, compounds containing beryllium are poisonous.

Levels in humans

The abundances of the elements in humans.

• Human abundance by weight: 0.4 ppb by weight
• Human abundance by atoms: 0.3 atoms relative to C = 1000000

How much beryllium is in your body? Find out here.

You can use this form to calculate how much beryllium your body contains. Enter your weight in either kilograms or pounds and click the "Calculate" button. You must enter a number, not text! Elements for which there are no data will always give a value of zero for the weight, no matter what you put in the weight box.

Hazards and Risks

Hazards and risks associated with beryllium:

Beryllium metal dust can cause major lung damage and beryllium salts are very toxic. Compounds containing beryllium are very poisonous and only to be handled by a professional under controlled conditions. One route for beryllium into the biosphere is by way of industrial smoke. It seems that some types of camping gas mantle may cause problems as a consequence of their beryllium content.

References

• J.E. Huheey, E.A. Keiter, and R.L. Keiter in Inorganic Chemistry : Principles of Structure and Reactivity, 4th edition, HarperCollins, New York, USA, 1993.
• S. Budavari (Ed.) in The Merck Index, 11th ed., Merck, USA, 1989.
• N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.