Asbestos: pdf version

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral. It is used as building and equipment insulation and in many industrial and commercial products.

Asbestos can cause disease when fine asbestos fibers accumulate in the lungs. The lungs cannot easily expel asbestos fibers.

If you smoke and have been exposed to asbestos, you have a much greater chance of developing lung cancer than does someone who smokes but has not been exposed to asbestos.

Why Am I being Tested and examined?

You are being tested and examined to evaluate your current health and your risk of future disease. Your answers to our questionnaire showed that you may have been exposed to asbestos while working for the Dept. of Energy at Hanford.

If you were exposed to asbestos, it is important to monitor your health.

By giving you an examination and tests, we may be able to tell if your health has been affected by asbestos. You may also need future periodic screening.

What are we looking for in this exam and what will my results show?

Asbestos can cause asbestosis, a lung disease. Asbestos scars the lungs, making them inelastic. The first symptom of asbestosis is shortness of breath. The severity of disease is related to the duration of exposure and the amount of fiber inhaled.

Another effect of asbestos exposure may be development of pleural plaques around the lungs. These plaques are a thickening of the lung lining. They confirm you had asbestos exposure. They do not mean your lungs are damaged unless you have other symptoms or signs.

Asbestos can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen.

In this examination, you will have a chest x-ray to help detect lung disease. You also will have spirometry, a lung function test. Spirometry measures your breathing capacity. Your results will show if your lung function is normal.

You will receive a letter summarizing your examination. If you test positive, you will be referred to your doctor or advised of the specialist needed for more tests or treatment. You will also be advised of compensation you may be eligible for. All your results are confidential, as defined in your Consent Statement.

If you are found to have asbestos disease, you would need to limit your exposure to all respiratory irritants and fumes.

Contact your physician if you get a long-lasting cough. Your doctor may prescribe special breathing exercises or other treatment.

Good Health Advice:

Smoking
If you smoke, try to stop. Smoking and asbestos exposure increase your risk of lung cancer.

Nutrition and Fitness
Eat properly and get regular exercise. For more advice, look for screenings at hospitals, YMCAs, senior centers, and nutrition centers.

Medications
Review expiration dates, interactions, and side effects of your medications. Take all your medications to your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or HMO for review and advice.

What if I have more questions?

If you have questions after this examination, you may want to ask your personal physician. Or call our toll-free number at 1-888-277-6886. We will refer you to a professional who can answer your specific questions.

Noise: pdf version

What is Noise?

Noise is pressure from sound waves. It is measured in decibels (dBA). We talk at about 60 decibels. Decibels are measured on a scale like the one for earthquakes. So when the decibels go up a little, it means the noise goes up a lot. For example, 73 dBA is twice as loud as 70 dBA.

Noise in construction or maintenance work often exceeds 95 dBA. A jackhammer is 120 dBA at 3 feet away. It is too noisy if you have to shout for someone to hear you 3 feet away.

Sources of loud noise at Hanford include heavy equipment, power tools, and stationary equipment and machinery .

Why Am I being Tested and examined?

You are being tested and examined to evaluate your current health and your risk of future disease. Your answers to our questionnaire showed that you may have been exposed to excessive noise while working for the Dept. of Energy at Hanford.

Loud noise can harm your hearing. Too much noise can raise your blood pressure. If you had significant exposure to noise, it is important to monitor your health.

By giving you an examination and tests, we may be able to tell if your health has been affected by noise.

What are we looking for in this exam and what will my results show?

Many industrial and maintenance workers lose a lot of their hearing. Usually, you lose hearing slowly so you may not notice.

The ear can be damaged by prolonged exposure to noise at 85 decibels or louder. The intense vibration caused by the loud sound waves damages the hair cells lining the inner ear.

You should be aware of other causes of hearing loss. These include shooting, snowmobiles and some other recreational vehicles, leaf blowers and snow blowers, and loud music. If you listen to music, radio, or television, make sure that the volume control is not set too high.

Exposure to too much noise also can raise your blood pressure and may give you heart disease.

If your history and physical examination indicate, you will receive an audio-metric test. The audiometric test measures your ability to hear sounds at different volumes and frequencies. Sometimes hearing loss happens only in certain frequencies, like the higher pitched frequencies.

You will receive a letter summarizing your examination. If your hearing test shows hearing loss, you will be referred to your doctor or advised of the specialist needed for more tests or treatment. You will also be advised of compensation you may be eligible for.

All your results are confidential, as defined in your Consent Statement.

Good Health Advice:

Smoking
If you smoke, try to stop. Smoking increases your risk of lung cancer.

Nutrition and Fitness
Eat properly and get regular exercise. For more advice, look for screenings at hospitals, YMCAs, senior centers, and nutrition centers.

Medications
Review expiration dates, interactions, and side effects of your medications. Take all your medications to your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or HMO for review and advice.

What if I have more questions?

If you have questions after this examination, you may want to ask your personal physician. Or call our toll-free number at 1-888-277-6886. We will refer you to a professional who can answer your specific questions.

Beryllium and Chronic Beryllium Disease: pdf version

What is beryllium?

• Beryllium is a hard, brittle, gray-white lightweight metal that is very strong, easy to shape, and has high heat capacity and conductivity. Beryllium and beryllium compounds have many industrial uses. Beryllium copper alloys and beryllium oxide ceramics are used in the electronic, nuclear and aerospace industries.
  
  
• Beryllium parts for nuclear weapons have been manufactured and used at a number of Department of Energy facilities since the 1950s. Workers may have come into contact with beryllium in a number of jobs over the years.

How does someone get exposed to beryllium?

• Exposure usually happens when a person breathes in beryllium mists, dusts and fumes. Beryllium can travel to the lungs where it can cause damage. Beryllium-related granulomas (non-cancerous tumors or growths) can also develop in other body tissues such as skin, but these do not usually result in a loss of function.
  
  
• Machinists, welders and operators may have been exposed through direct handling of beryllium and beryllium compounds. Other workers may have been exposed by performing laboratory analyses on beryllium compounds, coming into contact with contaminated equipment, working near a beryllium operation, entering a beryllium-contaminated building, or participating in clean-up activities.
  
  
• As with many workplace hazards, higher doses or exposures to beryllium cause more people to get sick. However, in a few people, even very small amounts of beryllium can pose a problem. This is because beryllium can cause some people to become sensitive to the metal. Their body reacts and begins the disease process even when exposed to only small amounts. The reason this happens is not well understood.
  

What are the major health problems beryllium can cause?

• Beryllium disease is caused primarily by breathing air with beryllium mist, dusts, and fumes. Both acute (abrupt, short-term) and chronic (long-term) health problems can occur.
  
  
• The acute disease starts soon after exposure and resembles pneumonia or bronchitis. It requires relatively high levels of exposure to occur, and is now quite rare because protective measures to reduce exposure are usually in place.
  
  
• Exposure to beryllium can cause a chronic lung disease in some people who develop sensitization, similar to an allergy. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Once a person becomes sensitized to beryllium, he or she has cells in the blood or lungs that are capable of reacting to beryllium. These cells are the cause of the lung inflammation in CBD. Chronic beryllium disease can take a long time to develop, usually several years or even decades after being exposed. It can occur at much lower levels of exposure than the acute form. In CBD, inflammation and scarring of the lungs make it more difficult for the lungs to get oxygen to the bloodstream and body.
  
  
• A special type of scarring called granuloma is very typical of this disease. These non-cancerous growths look like scars present in another disease called sarcoidosis. A work history and additional tests will help make the correct diagnosis.
  
  
• Most people exposed to beryllium will NOT get the disease. With the amount of dust present in most U.S. DOE workplaces where beryllium was used, fewer than three percent are likely to develop the disease.
  
  
• Chronic beryllium disease can be mild or severe. For some, it can be a relatively minor condition, while for others it can become a very serious, disabling disease.
  
  
• The International Agency of Research on Cancer identifies beryllium as a cancer-causing substance. In humans, one study found beryllium caused a small but significant increase in the amount of lung cancers. However, other researchers have pointed out flaws in that study.

What are the symptoms of chronic beryllium disease?

• Shortness of breath, especially with activity
• Cough
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite

What will happen if you have chronic beryllium disease?

• Some people can be diagnosed with the disease but have no symptoms. If you do not have any symptoms, you probably will not need treatment at the present time. Even so, you should see a health care provider regularly to monitor the disease (every one to two years).
  
  
• For a few people, chronic beryllium disease can progress and become serious enough to cause disability. Most people with the disease are able to control the symptoms with prescription drugs and regular medical care so that they can live full and productive lives.
  
  
• Treatment with a group of drugs called corticosteroids ("steroids"), such as prednisone, may be advised for those with symptoms or abnormal breathing test results. (These "steroids" are not the same ones that you hear about athletes using.) Steroids reduce inflammation and are believed to help keep the condition from progressing. Complete cure is rare, but steroids or other immune suppressing drugs may be effective in controlling the disease. Any decision to use drugs should be made after discussing possible side effects and other available alternatives with your health care provider.
  
  
• Any person with a lung condition, including chronic beryllium disease, may benefit from pneumonia and flu vaccinations and early treatment of respiratory infections.
  
  
• If you smoke, try to STOP. This is especially important for those with lung disease. Exposure to beryllium may increase your chances of getting lung cancer. It is important to eliminate major additional cancer risks such as smoking.
  
  
• If your beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) results are abnormal and your current job exposes you to beryllium, as a precaution you should seriously consider moving to a job without beryllium exposure until a final diagnosis can be made. You have the right to challenge any medical restrictions placed upon you.

Former Hanford Worker Medical Monitoring Program
University of Washington
Harborview Medical Center
325 Ninth Avenue, Box 359739
Seattle, WA 98104
(888) 277-6886