Tiny fibres used in tennis racquets, bicycle frames and some electronic equipment could be as dangerous to inhale as asbestos, experts warned on Tuesday.
A new study has linked the fibres, carbon nanotubes, with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining. Thousands of Britons have died after contact with asbestos, which can trigger the disease.
Carbon nanotubes, which are about 1/50,000th the size of a human hair, are extremely strong and able to transmit electricity.
They have been used in around a dozen products including tennis racquets, baseball bats and electronics but experts predict their use will significantly increase in coming decades.
Prof Ken Donaldson, of the University of Edinburgh, has shown that one type of nanotubes damages the lungs in the same way as asbestos.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology on Wednesday, show that in tests in mice, long, thin versions of the particles were able to penetrate the outer walls of the lung. They cannot be expelled and provoke scarring and inflammation, eventually leading to mesothelioma, often decades later.
Dr Anthony Seaton, from the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, warned that those involved in the manufacture of the particles were most likely to be exposed to airborne particles, particularly as the industry is predicted to grow rapidly and be worth more than £1 billion by 2010.
Dr Noemi Eiser, medical director at the British Lung Foundation, said: “It is imperative that the questions raised by this research are answered before the commercial use of long carbon nanotubes becomes widespread. We must be vigilant about preventing future exposure.”
Source : www.telegraph.co.uk
