Success Stories

ORAU Beryllium Lab Marks Perfect Year in 2010 with Zero Test Errors

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ (ORAU) Beryllium Testing Laboratory achieved stellar performance in fiscal year 2010 by processing nearly 5,100 tests without a single error.

The beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) examines how a type of disease-fighting blood cell in a person’s body—called a lymphocyte—reacts to beryllium. This blood test is currently the most accurate method to identify individuals at risk of developing Chronic Beryllium Disease.

ORAU, through its contract to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is one of only four laboratories in the United States approved to conduct these tests. The highly complex procedure takes 10 to 14 days to complete and much of the work is performed manually.

Reliability in tests results is critical to workers wanting to know if they have developed a sensitivity to beryllium and to managers who must make recommendations about whether active workers can still work with beryllium.

The high quality standards set by the ORAU’s beryllium laboratory employees translate into the ability to deliver exacting results even during times when the demand for tests is increasing. In the last five years alone, the number of requests for ORAU’s BeLPT services has grown nearly 60 percent. During this same time, the laboratory’s error rate has been equal to or less than 0.5 percent. In 2009, it was 0.11 percent.

ORAU’s beryllium laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) guidelines and has been awarded the prestigious College of American Pathologists (CAP) certification.