The health consequences of beryllium (Be2+) exposure can be severe. Beryllium is responsible for a debilitating and potentially fatal lung disease, chronic beryllium disease (CBD) resulting from inhalation of beryllium particles. The US Code of Federal Register (CFR), 10 CFR 850, has established a limit of 0.2 mug beryllium/100 cm(2) as the maximum amount of beryllium allowable on surfaces to be released from beryllium work areas in Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. The analytical technique described herein reduces the time and cost of detecting beryllium on laboratory working surfaces substantially. The technique provides a positive colorimetric response to the presence of beryllium on a 30.5 cm x 30.5 cm (1 ft(2)) surface at a minimum detection of 0.2 mug/100 cm(2). The method has been validated to provide positive results for beryllium in the presence of excess iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, nickel, chromium and lead at concentrations 100 times that of beryllium and aluminum and uranium (UO22+) at lesser concentrations. The colorimetric detection technique has also been validated to effectively detect solid forms of beryllium including Be(OH)2, BeCl2, BeSO4, beryllium metal and BeO. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.