The present study offers support to industries where beryllium is present in developing a cleaning and/or decontamination protocol so that they can achieve acceptably low levels of beryllium exposure. The project’s objective is to produce a decontamination guide that will be a complement to the publication “Summary of good cleanup and decontamination practices for workplaces with beryllium containing dust” to meet specific needs /(Dion, 2005)/. The research report presents the laboratory and field studies that will improve knowledge about the evaluation of cleaning solutions, three surface sampling techniques, and the cleaning and decontamination techniques used in the field. A decontamination guide will be published separately.

Good cleaning practices for premises where beryllium is used or handled are necessary in preventing the accumulation of beryllium on work surfaces. Such an accumulation can result in resuspension of the beryllium particles in the air of the work area.

During decontamination of premises where beryllium is present, as with other contaminants such as asbestos and lead, safety measures must be followed by maintenance workers and other workers working close to the decontamination zone. The techniques used during maintenance of contaminated zones or equipment must prevent the dispersion and re-suspension of the dust. Two cleaning principles are generally used: vacuum cleaning using a vacuum equipped with a high efficiency (HEPA) filter, and wet cleaning with detergent.