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Attention: Industrial, health, science correspondents. Health and safety media

Nanotechnology could be the new asbestos

The latest issue of the TUC backed Hazards magazine has supported today’s call from the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineers for regulation of the booming nanotechnology industry, particularly in the area of workers safety.

Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, said:

'This isn't an apocalyptic warning about 'nano-goo' or renegade 'nano-robots' but a genuine concern for the safety of staff breathing in and absorbing tiny, toxic particles. Asbestos is still killing people 100 years on. We must learn from this tragedy and ensure that a regulated nanotechnology industry can make products that are useful and innovative but safe to workers and consumers.'

‘Nanotechnology: what they don’t know could hurt you’, featured in Hazards magazine (out today - http://www.hazards.org/nanotech) likens the unregulated growth of nanotechnology, the production or use of very small particles, to a 21st Century gold rush. Hundreds of nanotechnology based products (using particles one eighty thousandth the width of a human hair) are already on the market, from computer screens to self-cleaning windows, and over £2 billion is being spent globally on research and development. But health and safety law, in the UK and other countries, does not protect workers in the nanotechnology industry from health risks they may face, as it does for other highly hazardous materials.

The TUC believes that the production and use of nanoparticles should be carried out in a contained process so that employees are not exposed to the potential health risks.

It is already known that ‘ultra fine’ particles, such as those from diesel machines, power plants and incinerators, can damage human lungs. Nanoparticles can also get into the blood through the skin, digestive system, and lungs, potentially causing cell damage. Research has shown that some nanoparticles cause lung damage in rats and others lead to brain damage in fish and dogs. Also, once in the blood nanoparticles could cross the blood/brain barrier.

Rory O’Neill, Hazards Magazine Editor, said:

'The nanotech industry is the biggest thing since the microchip, but has grown with scarcely a thought for the potential occupational health risks. There have been plenty of red flags, but the dollar signs have blotted out the warnings signs.

'A huge new industry operating with little safety guidance is a dangerous combination. The evidence we do have raises real concerns about chronic health effects, the extent of which might only become apparent in a generation.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The full Hazards feature on nanotechnology is available at www.hazards.org/nanotech

- A TUC fact sheet on nanotechnology is available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-8350-f0.cfm

Contacts:

Media enquiries : Ben Hurley T: 020 7467 1248; Pager: 07626 317903; E: bhurley@tuc.org.uk

Congress: TUC Congress 2004 is to be held at the Brighton Centre from Monday 13 September to Thursday 16 September. Applications for media credentials must be received
by 5pm Friday 3 September. Requests received after this date will be subject to a £50 administration charge. To register and to book a BT phone line go to www.tuc.org.uk/mediacredentials.

Press release (600 words) issued 29 Jul 2004