Will Chinese nanoparticle study fuel nano fear?
The European Respiratory Journal has published a Chinese study linking workplace nanoparticle exposure to seven cases of progressive lung disease, in which two patients died.
Andrew Maynard in his 2020 blog covers this best, and it was reported in Nature News as well.
I suspect this paper will get considerable attention, especially in the media. But I hope the debate is kept in context. It is doubtless a useful and important study, but it was not a controlled experiment. For two patients it was an autopsy. As Andrew Maynard points out, this is a clinical study, not a toxicological one. Other toxicologists in the Nature article suggest the symptoms of the patients are more typical of chemical exposure, in this case the polystyrene and poly acrylic paste, rather than nanoparticles. The seven people were also placed in an environment where it appears standard Occupational Health and Safety practices were missing.
Until more is known we need to be careful about drawing conclusions, and it remains to be seen what effect this will have on stimulating further research into the safety and management of nanoparticles in the workplace.
Whatever the outcome of this research, hopefully it (and the research process itself) will be open and transparent and integrated into a proper dialogue with the public that results in appropriate action and some informed decision making. If it doesn’t then this will only harm the debate and likely send it along a similar road to that of GM foods.
European Resp Journal reference:
(Y. Song, X. Li and X. Du Eur. Respir. J. 34, 559–567; 2009).
Jason Major