Mesothelioma

Researchers believe that nanotubes may cause mesothelioma in certain people. Nanotubes are used in a hundreds if not thousands of products (especially paint) and if inhaled may cause this deadly and widespread disease. The study was performed on mice and was published in the Nature Nanotechnology journal.

“The results were clear,” said Kenneth Donaldson, a professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, said at a London press conference today. “Long, thin carbon nanotubes showed the same effect as long, thin asbestos fiber.”

Researchers were not able to determine whether or not a sufficient number of carbon nanotubes can become airborne or inhaled to be able to work their way into our bodies and break through the lining of our lungs.
Donaldson and his team injected the nanomaterials into the abdominal cavity of mice, causing pathological responses known to be precursors of mesothelioma. More than 500 consumer products including bicycle parts and wound dressings use nanoparticles, while only a couple use nanotubes, Donaldson said. People who work in facilities where nanomaterials are produced or integrated into products are probably most at risk, he said.

“I advocate more research into exposure in the workplace,” Donaldson said in a telephone interview. “We don’t know which companies use and produce this type of nanotubes. More research is still needed to be done if we are to understand how to use these materials as safely as possible.”