Carbon nanotubes are the leading example within the nanotechnology industry of a product that can be used for a variety of functions in many products including advanced electronics, tennis rackets, bicycles and baseball bats but recent studies suggest they may trigger diseases similar to asbestos. The inhalation of asbestos fibers skyrocketed lung ailments throughout the 20th century and continue to prove harmful even after government regulations. For a fiber to be harmful it has to be thin, long and insoluble in the lung. It is the strength and light weight functionality of the fibers that make both asbestos and carbon nanotubes an invaluable product but it is also what can make them harmful.
While further studies are needed to draw firm conclusions concerning the affects of nanotube exposure research has shown that to mice have developed inflammation and lesions when exposed.
In opposition to many asbestos cases, the concerns don't lie with consumers who used encased nanotube materials but rather mainly with workers exposed to the tubes during manufacturing and disposal.
The Length Factor
The global market for the nanotubes, a tiny cylindrical molecule, is expected to double in the next few years by some estimates. Although, the similarities between fibers such as asbestos does raise concern for those looking to avoid the disaster that developed as a result of asbestos exposure and the cancers that may accompany it.
For a fibre to be harmful it must be thin, long and insoluble in the lung. A recent study showed that the longer tubes when injected into rats caused inflammation and scar formation similar to what would happen when a deadly cancer, mesothelioma, results from asbestos exposure. The shorter nanotubes were not harmful. This suggests that cells can deal with smaller particles but a long, straight shape can prove harmful. It is the inability of the cells to function properly that allows the longer tubes to stay in place and cause scarring, which may lead to cancer.
Still more research needed
While many scientists seem comfortable in linking certain affects of carbon nanotubes to that of asbestos fibers, they caution that there has yet to be conclusive proof that it will lead to mesothelioma. The big debate that exists is whether the long nanotubes can even reach the chest cavity lining if they were inhaled.
While caution is needed in being too presumptuous about asbestos-like affects even more caution needs to be taken so those working with the fibers don't find out the hard way. Extreme caution needs to be taken to insure that the product does not become airborne.
The positive in the research is that it is still early in its evolutionary process of uses, thus it is still early and the right precautionary measure can be taken to insure safety. Carbon nanotubes will help revolutionize advance electronic communications and with the right amount of research move forward in a responsible manner.