Hanford workers could be at risk of contracting a potentially fatal respiratory disease from exposure to beryllium in 43 of the site's buildings, a University of Washington researcher said Wednesday.

Studies at other Department of Energy sites show a 1-in-100 chance that even a very slight exposure can give someone chronic beryllium disease, Dr. Tim Takaro said at a Hanford health conference in Richland.

Those odds are considered bad in epidemiological circles, he noted.

That ailment - characterized by shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, weight loss or lots of phlegm - could be fatal if allowed to linger.

Forty-three Hanford buildings contain beryllium somewhere within them, Takaro said. Most are in the 300 and 3000 Areas with several scattered elsewhere, according to a report by the University of Washington Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program.

"Beryllium is an important problem at Hanford," said Takaro, a UW physician and researcher who was on the team that wrote the report.

DOE has requested that the University of Washington design a plan to track and address this matter.

Beryllium is a natural ore used in ceramics, fluorescent lights and nuclear technology.

In the nuclear field, it is used in fuel casings and in nuclear weapons cores.

It can float in the air in tiny flakes to get into people's lungs. The first apparent case of chronic beryllium disease showed up in 1984 at DOE's Rocky Flats site where plutonium triggers for atomic bombs are made.

But it did not become apparent as a major problem until recently when it began surfacing in significant numbers at several DOE sites, with Rocky Flats being hit worst.

The University of Washington and Hanford have just begun looking at the Richland site. However, cleanup activities will likely increase a worker's chance of going into a building containing beryllium, Takaro said.

Health officials have looked at 9,700 exposed workers and former workers at several DOE sites -primarily Rocky Flats, Oak Ridge and Fernald. Hanford was not in that sample.

The study showed 233 of the 9,700 people tested positive for the pres ence of beryllium activating their immune systems.

And 93 cases of chronic beryllium disease actually materialized in that sample.

About half of the 233 were exposed very slightly to beryllium Takaro said. A spouse of an exposed worker or someone just walking through a beryllium building could test positive, he said.

A problem with chronic beryllium disease is that the symptoms resemble numerous other ailments. Also, chronic beryllium disease can take one to 30 years to surface after exposure.

Another complicating factor is that genetic predispositions might influence who actually contract chronic beryllium disease, Takaro said.

The only way to nail it down is through a simple blood test, Takaro said.

"We think that because of the exquisite toxicity of beryllium ... if a worker has been in a building where beryllium was used, that worker should get his blood tested," Takaro said.

"Early diagnosis would be helpful. The degree it would be helpful is still up to question," Takaro said.

One remedial measure would be if a worker's blood test confirms exposure, that person can avoid entering buildings with beryllium.

The University of Washington is in the beginning stages of setting up a medical surveillance program for beryllium at Hanford.

That would likely consist of the UW team trying to identify who would likely have been exposed, mailing them a description of the problem, getting consent to send questionnaires and scheduling blood tests.

Beryllium is one of three Hanford occupational health problems that the UW team concluded needs further medical surveillance.

The other two problems are exposure to asbestos, which can cause cancer, and hearing loss.

The study noted Hanford workers exposed to asbestos appear slightly more likely to suffer lung problems than the general population.

And out of a sample of 37,656 current and former Hanford workers, 2,127 suffered significant hearing losses that are not due to growing old, said Dr. Scott Barnhart, another member of the UW team.

On the asbestos problems, the UW team recommends exposed workers and former workers undergo chest X-rays and breathing tests routinely.

On the hearing losses, about all that can be done is inform that person that he or she could be eligible for workers compensation and to seek hearing help, Takaro said.