Chinese Researchers Find Nanoparticles in Human Lung Tissue
Chinese researchers studying seven women purportedly exposed to nanoparticles in the workplace for 5-13 months sought to determine if their shortness of breath and pleural effusions could be linked to their exposure. Y. Song, et al., “Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma,” European Respiratory Journal, August 20, 2009. According to the abstract of their
article, “polyacrylate, consisting of nanoparticles, was confirmed in the workplace,” and electron microscopy revealed nanoparticles in “the cytoplasm and caryoplasm of pulmonary epithelial and mesothelial cells,” as well as in the chest fluid of the subjects. The researchers have concluded that the cases “arouse concern that long-term exposure to some nanoparticles without protective measures may be related to serious damage to human lungs.”
The research has generated debate among nanotech researchers and scientists. Two of the women studied have reportedly died. Working in an unidentified Chinese printing factory, they were apparently exposed in a small, unventilated room without appropriate workplace health and safety protections while they inhaled fumes from heated polystyrene boards that had previously been sprayed with a polyacrylic ester paste. Some respiratory toxicologists reportedly doubt that nanoparticles were to blame for the serious illnesses and deaths experienced by
the workers, believing that the symptoms were more typical of chemical exposure. Occupational medicine experts agree that the study is not definitive and blame the “total failure in health and safety procedures” for the adverse health effects.
Nanotechnology expert Andrew Maynard, with the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars, discussed the study’s limitations in several science blogs. He was quoted as saying, “The study raises the bar for doing appropriate research as fast as possible to find out where the dangers might lie when working with nanomaterials.” Maynard reportedly suggested that the patients’ symptoms were similar to those
seen in animals intentionally exposed to nanoparticles. He concluded that despite the noted limitations, “this is a strong clinical study, and if viewed appropriately, will most likely help avoid similar incidents in the future.” He agreed that long-accepted occupational practices would have prevented the illnesses and deaths.
Polyacrylates are plastics that come in a variety of forms, including those that make Plexiglas and “super glue,” serve as binders for indoor and outdoor latex house paints, absorb fluids in disposable diapers, provide the “instant snow” used as set decoration for movie studios, and assist with seed germination, soil conditioning and hydroponics. See Nature News, SafeNano Blog, and ICON Blog, August 18, 2009.
