Can Asbestos Help Us Understand Nanotoxicity?

Roland Piquepaille writes "Occupational Hazards is running an interesting article about how using our knowledge of asbestos could help us to assess the risks from nanoparticles, or their nanotoxicity. Today, it's unknown if nanomaterials under development are dangerous to human beings or to our environment. Some people think that nanoparticles can move to our lungs or our brains, presenting a significant threat to our health. Other scientists think there is no danger because we have been exposed to nanoparticles for thousands of years, such as ashes from volcanic eruptions. For example, nanotubes which are now used for many industrial developments, have similar shapes as fibers like asbestos, being long and extremely thin. And like nanomaterials today, asbestos was considered as harmless when humans were exposed to it. While the comparison has some merit, more research needs to be done before drawing any conclusion."

Comments

So what about other large molecules?

[vik]

Plasticisers, stabilizing agents, enzymes, catalysts and all these wonderful pharmecuticals that we consume and then pee into the environment are also nanomachines, just ones built with bulk chemistry rather than direct nanoscale assembly.

Didn't we ought to focus on what they do in the environment, rather than propagate scare stories about future nanomachines that can be pre-programmed to safely degrade?

Vik :v)

of course

[Goldsmith]

Are nanotubes and like materials dangerous?
Yes.

So... don't go around breathing in nanotubes. I hope we've learned from our past health failings enough to use these materials responsibly. Who am I kidding though?

People are not going to understand that the cancer probe or glucose sensor made of nanotubes is actually safe, while the nanotube sweaters may be a bad idea.

Greed Greed Greed

[argoff]

While I am sure there are risks to nano technology, I think the real force driving all this "concern" is plan and simple greed.

Nano technology is what's called a "disruptive" technology. That means that it will enable people to do things for pennies on the dollar that used to cost billions. Because of this it threatens what is called "barriers to entry" for many large corporations. According to business 101, the most profitable businesses have high barriers to entry that help keep competitors out and lock profits in.

The only problem is that when a company can't compete off of it's "natural" barriers to entry, then it's only option is to compete off of "regulatory" barriers to entry. Hence the strong incentives and financial pressure to make sure nano technology is a super overregulated industry before it even exits the starting gate.

So now all the other "concerns" about nano technology that keep poping up should be far more clear.

Re:Asbestos is not nanoscale

[bcattwoo]

There's scant concern about those - diesel engines continue to operate unabated worldwide.

I work for the EPA and happen to know a couple people looking into the health effects (in mice) of fine particulates and are just starting a new project to look at diesel particles. My fellow postdoc friend has been smelling like diesel a lot lately. The odor is really quite a nice accompanyment to lunch :)

The problem with abating diesel particulate pollution is that a lot of people will likely bitch loudly about the cost of prevention or switching to a less polluting technology. It is a lot easier to study the potential effects of a new technology before it gains widespread adoption rather than trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

It's the quantity, stupid.

[0xC2]

Too much coal dust will kill you. Too much radiation will kill you. Too much Vitamin A will kill you. Too much tylenol will kill you. A large bale of marijuana will kill you, if dropped from sufficient height. And varying amounts of above substances can make you sick. We need to know safe acceptable limits whenever the population en masse will be exposed to new substances. Lots of tricky details to sort out, and no simple answers.

Fibreglass causing similar problems?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've often wondered whether all those millions of fibreglass insulation blankets that have been installed in house ceilings will begin to cause similar problems to asbestos when they begin to break down.

Not nanotubes

[Sir Holo]

Nanotubes disintegrate in water. (Humans are bags of mostly water.) So you'll have to look elsewhere for your asbetos-like lung-daggers.