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Coal slag, a recycled coal waste byproduct, is used by the ton at the nation's shipyards, where its blasted against steel hulls to prepare them for paint. The product contains a toxin called beryllium that has been linked to a chronic and sometimes fatal lung disease. Though safety officials at the nation's biggest shipyard were aware of the toxin, called beryllium, workers say they were not clued in, and union officials say dust from the product, called coal slag, commonly gets in the eyes and throats of workers despite efforts to keep it out of the air.