December/January 2009/2010 (vol. 06/4)

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Carbon nanotubes – the new asbestos?

Exploring the occupational health and hygiene risks of carbon nanotubes

Summary:

Carbon nanotubes are already being developed for use in medicines, electronics and sports goods. But does their manufacture create new occupational health and hygiene hazards? Carole Bass explores.

Postdoctoral researcher Candace Tsai is operating a state-of-the-art particle analyser called a fast mobility particle sizer spectrometer (FMPS). It is housed in a beige box and weighs more than 30 kg. ‘Including the cart, it will be about 90 pounds,’Tsai observes – ‘about my weight’. The University of Massachusetts Lowell invested $60,000 in the FMPS, not because of its size, but...

Carole Bass is a US-based journalist who writes frequently about occupational and environmental health.

Author: Bass C

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Occupational Health at Work December/January 2009/2010 (vol. 06/4) pp24-27

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