Beryllium Production Plant-Luckey

From 1942 through 1945, National Lead operated a magnesium processing facility on the Luckey site for the U.S. government. In 1949, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) built a beryllium production facility at the site. The government built the plant to replace the production that was lost when the Brush Beryllium Lorain plant was destroyed by fire. The Brush Beryllium Company (now Brush Wellman) under contract to the AEC, produced beryllium pebbles at this site until 1958. Records indicate that the facility produced between 40,000 and 144,000 pounds of beryllium. In 1959, the AEC contracted with Brush to close down the facility. The site was sold to the Vulcan Materials Company in 1961.
In 1951, AEC sent approximately 1,000 tons of radioactively contaminated scrap metal to the Luckey site. This material was to be used by the Diamond Magnesium Company to resume magnesium processing at the idle facility. Former Brush Wellman employees report that the magnesium facility never resumed operations; however, some records indicate that the facility operated in the 1950s under contract by the General Services Administration (GSA). The radioactively contaminated scrap metal remained stored at the site.
Due to Brush Wellman’s status as a statutory beryllium vendor, all employees of Brush Wellman in the U. S., regardless of location, are covered for the entire period for which Brush Wellman and its predecessors supplied beryllium to the U. S. Department of Energy or its predecessor agencies. That period is defined as August 18, 1943 and continuing.
Additionally, on March 8, 2011 the corporate name of Brush Wellman, Inc. changed to Materion Brush, Inc.

Alternative Names

• Brush Beryllium
• Luckey Site
• Brush Luckey Plant
• Materion Brush Incorporated
• Diamond Magnesium Company
• Motor Wheel Corporation Site

Type of Facility

• Beryllium Vendor
• Department of Energy

Covered by EEOICPA

• Part B
• Part B and Part E

EEOICPA Covered Years

• 1949-1959 (beryllium vendor)
• 1949-1951 (DOE)
• 1992-Present (remediation) 

Contractors

• 1949-1961 Brush Beryllium

Army Corps of Engineers

• FUSRAP-Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste

DOE

• DOE Facility List by Name
• FUSRAP Considered Site

DOL

• Tracking your DOL Claim Status
• Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health
• Ombudsman’s Office
• Resource Center
• DOL Case and Claim Statistics
• DOL Site Exposure Matrix

NIOSH

• Tracking your NIOSH Case Status
• Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
• NIOSH Case Statistics

Other Resources

• Waste Lands-America’s Forgotten Nuclear Legacy Database