Labour Research July 2008

Health & Safety Matters

Nano risks are similar to asbestos

Carbon nanotubes might be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled, a new study has found.

Researchers at medical institutes in the UK and the US found that long, thin carbon nanotubes showed the same effects as asbestos fibres in the lungs of mice.

Anthony Seaton, a medical doctor and co-author of the study, said: “The Health and Safety Executive needs to take appropriate measures to ensure that people are not being exposed to these things in the air.”