Few nanotech researchers are taking adequate precautions against the potential health effects of exposure to the tiny materials with which they work, reveals a survey published online in Nature Nanotechnology.

 

“The results of this survey indicate that environmental health and safety practice in many research laboratories worldwide is lacking,” write Francisco Balas and colleagues from the University of Zaragoza in Spain.

 

The tiny particles, which measure 1–100 nanometres in diameter, may be inhaled by the lungs and absorbed through the skin or gut. Scientists do not know how they interact with the cells of the body and some have concerns over their safety. Previous research has suggested that carbon nanotubes behave like asbestos fibres in the lungs, but any health risks remain unclear.

 

To find out what safety precautions scientists take when working with nanomaterials, Balas and colleagues surveyed 240 nanotech researchers from around the world. Around 95% of them worked in university and public research laboratories.

 

The group found that almost three quarters of those surveyed reported their laboratories did not have specific nano-safety rules, or they were unaware of any in place.

 

Around half of those surveyed did not cover their mouth and nose when working in the laboratory. Just 6% wore a face mask, shield or body suit designed to filter nanoparticles, they say.

 

One in four researchers did not report taking any protective measures in the laboratory, such as using physical barriers or filters that remove unwanted airborne particles to stop substances seeping into the environment. Just over 15% reported using a bench-top extraction device when working with the materials. “Taken together this means that nearly 40% of researchers working with nanomaterials reported using none or only weak means of general laboratory protection,” write Balas et al.

 

“Furthermore, many research laboratories dispose of nanomaterials in the same way they dispose of other chemicals,” they note. “This seems at odds with the fact that 81% of researchers stated that nanomaterials should be treated as hazardous waste.”

 

The findings come despite guidelines on the safe handling of nanomaterials published in 2008 and 2009 by the International Organization for Standardized Nanotechnologies and the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. But there are no international standards for nanotechnology safety, the authors stress, nor are there widely accepted limits of exposure to nanoscale particles. “As such, there is no clear benchmark that can be used as a target for implementing suitable laboratory safety measures for nanomaterials.”

 

Getting academic journals to require nano-safety disclosures as part of published research studies could be one way to help scientists take up recommended precautions quickly, suggest Balas and colleagues.

 

Previous studies into the safety practices of nanotech workers have centred on industrial employees working in the manufacture of nanomaterials, not researchers working with the materials to conduct scientific research.