Nanomaterials More Dangerous Than We Think

bshell writes "A Canadian panel of leading scientists warns that nanomaterials appearing in a rapidly growing number of products might potentially be able to enter cells and interfere with biological processes. According to a story in the Globe and Mail, the Council of Canadian Academies concluded that 'there are inadequate data to inform quantitative risk assessments on current and emerging nanomaterials... Their small size, the report says, may allow them "to usurp traditional biological protective mechanisms" and, as a result, possibly have "enhanced toxicological effects."' The council is an independent academic advisory group funded by the federal government, but operating at arms-length from Ottawa. The 16-member panel that wrote the new report included some of Canada's leading scientists and top international experts on nanomaterials."

Comments

Re:Bunch of useless speculation

[mapsjanhere]

try

A Review of Carbon Nanotube Toxicity and Assessment of Potential Occupational and Environmental Health Risks

Lam, Chiu-wing; James, John; McCluskey, Richard; Arepalli, Sivaram; Hunter, Robert

Critical Reviews in Toxicology, Volume 36, Number 3, May-June 2006 , pp. 189-217(29)

Re:Bunch of useless speculation

[TubeSteak]

Well, lets start with some plausible hypotheses as to how the materials might be unsafe, and then study those.

There are two things that make nano-[anything] problematic

1. Our bodies are not designed to filter nano-sized particles

2. nano-[anything] has vastly more surface area, which makes it much more reactive (ie possibly toxic) at lower concentrations.

These are not hypotheses, they are facts. All that's left to study is which elements are toxic in nano-form and which aren't. And I'm personally much more comfortable with a default assumption of "unsafe" than the opposite.