In an overall evaluation of the situation published by IARC in 1993, beryll
ium and beryllium compounds are identified as carcinogens to humans. This p
rompted the initiation of this study on beryllium which reviews the situati
on up to 1998 on the aspects: properties and applications, toxicity, analyt
ical procedures for food and drinking water, reference materials, occurrenc
e in food and drinking water and estimates of daily dietary exposure. Speci
al emphasis is pur on analytical aspects and levels of beryllium in food an
d drinking water.