The instrumental and analytical procedures involved in the estimation of beryllium in ambient air particulates, surface deposited dust and soil samples by the GFAAS technique have been optimised. Air samples were analysed directly after acid digestion. Non-specific interferences induced by the presence of salts in deposited dust and soil matrices were overcome by the optimisation of ashing parameters with suitable chemical modifiers. Instrumental detection limit was found to be 0.05 ng Be/mL. The concentration levels of beryllium in ambient aerosols, deposited dust and soil samples in the study area were found to be in the range of 0.01-2.5 ng/m(3), 1.6-3.0 mug/g and 1.42-2.75 mug/g respectively. The method was found to be equally applicable to fly ash samples.