(NHI Nanoblog) Scientists from the University of Singapore examine the potential for serious lung disease caused by exposure to nanoparticles in a new study published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine. (The full study is available for free.)
The paper, essentially a review of prior research on the topic, notes that since the lungs are an easy way for nanoparticles to enter the human body, the pulmonary system is of particular concern in working up standards for safely handling these super-small particles.
In addition, the study says, human lungs are easily able to take in nanoparticles, making problems likely. Exposure to nanoparticles could cause DNA damage as well as diseases due to lung inflammation, such as pulmonary fibrosis. Pneumoconiosis, an occupational disease found in coal miners and others who have worked around fine particles, including asbestos, is also possible, the study concludes.
The Singapore study echoes other reviews of the scientific literature on the potential risks of nanoparticles, from the construction industry to the very lab workers trying to evaluate the dangers.
