Showing posts with label Nanotechnology health safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nanotechnology health safety. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Medical screening for nanoparticle exposures


The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is recommending precautionary interim measures for reducing work-related exposures and assessing potential risk. This has been published in Current Intelligence Bulletin 60: Interim Guidance for Medical Screening and Hazard Surveillance for Workers Potentially Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles. According to the executive summary:

Concerns have been raised about whether workers exposed to engineered nanoparticles are at increased risk of adverse health effects. The current body of evidence about the possible health risks of occupational exposure to engineered nanoparticles is quite small. While there is increasing evidence to indicate that exposure to some engineered nanoparticles can cause adverse health effects in laboratory animals, no health studies of workers exposed to the few engineered nanoparticles tested in animals have been published. The purpose of this document from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to provide interim guidance about whether specific medical screening, including performing medical tests on asymptomatic workers, is appropriate for these workers.


Link -- http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-116/

Monday, December 22, 2008

Nanomaterial risk review

The federal government's plan for researching the health and environmental risks of nanomaterials has "serious weaknesses," says this report from the National Research Council.

Links:
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12559&page=R1

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Nanotechnology: carbon nanotubes

Click on the title link below to view the NIOSH article on employee protection similarities between carbon nanotubes and asbestos.

Nanotechnology: Should carbon nanotubes be handled in the workplace like asbestos?


via NIOSH Science Blog on 5/20/08

Posted May 20, 2008, by Vladimir V. Murashov, Ph.D. Do the nanoparticles used in nanotechnology pose unintended risks of illness or injury for workers employed in the industry? The NIOSH Science Blog looks at one nanomaterial - carbon nanotubes-- and discusses new research findings about their similarities to asbestos and how they should be handled in the workplace to protect workers.

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