It probably is an over reaction - especially when immobilised in a
silica gel. But civil servants mainly have classics degrees and
politicians are mostly lawyers so don't expect rationality.
Not that I know--gotta link?
I wouldn't say it was a deadly carcinogen. More a deadly poison - if you
survive the immediate acute toxicity then it might increase your chances
of getting cancer in the long term, but the main risk is as a poison.
The headline risk of BeO is berylliosis--an allergic reaction of some
people--and mostly from inhaling the dust.
It was a real hazard for the guys who sharpened beryllium copper chisels
used in flame proof areas and the MSDS gives it as likely carcinogen -
not really entirely proven as acute lethal effects tend to dominate. eg
http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/BE/beryllium_oxide.html
CICAD goes further based on statistics of workers in Be processing
http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad32.htm
There is a pure beryllium single crystal in a museum somewhere that has
a list of the unfortunate people it has killed attached. It was one of
the easier materials for Xray crystallography in the early days. However
a scratch from it never healed and in some unlucky individuals proved
fatal.
BeO and other beryllium salts are not nice to handle.
Regards,
Martin Brown
