Beryllium
Be·Affects lungs, bones
A lightweight industrial metal used in aerospace, defense, and electronics. Contaminates water near coal-fired power plants, metal refineries, and historic manufacturing sites.
Be
EPA limit
0.004 mg/L (4 ppb)
Most at risk
Residents near coal ash ponds, metal refineries, and aerospace manufacturing sites
Found in
City water · Well water · Industrial areas
AquaOx filters
YesKDF-55 + activated carbon
What it does to you
Health effects
Beryllium is classified by the EPA and IARC as a known human carcinogen, with the strongest evidence for lung cancer from inhalation exposure. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a progressive granulomatous lung condition, is the signature occupational illness from beryllium dust.
In drinking water, the main concerns are lung and bone damage from long-term low-level intake. Beryllium accumulates in skeletal tissue and can cause bone abnormalities over time, and gastrointestinal absorption (although limited) eventually distributes to lung and bone reservoirs.
Acute high-dose exposure can cause inflammation of the lungs (acute beryllium pneumonitis) and irritation throughout the respiratory tract. The EPA set the drinking water limit at 4 ppb specifically to protect against chronic toxicity over a lifetime of exposure.
Where it comes from
How it gets into your water
Beryllium enters water through two main pathways: industrial discharge and natural leaching from beryllium-bearing minerals. Coal combustion is a significant industrial source, with beryllium concentrating in fly ash and leaching from unlined coal ash ponds into nearby groundwater.
Manufacturing of aerospace components, defense hardware, X-ray windows, and copper-beryllium electrical contacts generates beryllium waste streams. Older electronics recycling and metal refining operations have also contaminated soil and groundwater in localized hot spots.
Natural background levels are very low in most US groundwater. When beryllium shows up above the EPA limit, an industrial source is almost always nearby.
Coal ash ponds
Leachate from unlined disposal sites
Aerospace and defense manufacturing
Alloys and machined components
Metal refining
Copper-beryllium alloy production
Natural mineral deposits
Beryl and bertrandite ores
Find out for yourself
Is it in your water?
City water utilities test for beryllium and report it in the annual Consumer Confidence Report. Violations are uncommon nationally but cluster around historic industrial sites and coal ash impoundments.
Private well owners near coal-fired power plants, military installations, or aerospace facilities should test specifically for beryllium. State environmental agencies often publish contamination maps for known industrial release sites, and the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) lists facilities that handle beryllium and can flag nearby risk.
The fix
How AquaOx filters it
AquaOx's KDF-55 copper-zinc media reduces beryllium through redox reactions that convert soluble beryllium into insoluble forms captured in the filter bed. The activated carbon stage provides additional adsorption capacity.
For well sources with documented industrial beryllium contamination, AquaOx recommends adding a point-of-use reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen sink. RO membranes reject heavy metal ions including beryllium to very low levels, giving you a second barrier specifically for drinking and cooking water.