Aug 19 2009
A study published in the forthcoming issue of the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ), has for the first time claimed a concrete link between exposure to nanoparticles in adhesive paint and development of severe pulmonary fibrosis in a group of young female workers; two of whom went on to suffer fatal lung failure.
Toxicity from nanoparticulates has been the topic of increasing research effort for several years. For some nanoparticles and nanomaterials, toxicity has already been established in animals. For example, mice were found to develop symptoms of inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis following application of carbon nanoparticles to the trachea (Lam et. al, 2004). However, until now no cases have been reported in humans. The work of a Beijing-based group of scientists to be published in the ERJ this week linking exposure to nanoparticles in adhesive paint to severe pulmonary fibrosis in a group of young female workers therefore breaks new ground in the area, providing fascinating new evidence for consideration in the debate on the dangers of nanotechnologies.
The study, by a team led by Yuguo Song, of the Occupational Disease and Clinical Toxicology Department at Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, involved seven healthy young women employed in a print plant. Over the course of a few months, all of the women were hospitalised for respiratory problems, accompanied by itchy eruptions of the skin on the face and arms. On examination, the patients were found to have liquid effusion around the heart and lungs, which proved resistant to all treatments. Comprehensive investigation led to a diagnosis, in all cases, of pulmonary fibrosis with consequent impairment of lung function. The Chinese team's link between the symptoms and nanoparticle exposure was based on the results from electron microscopy of the chemical used, lung biopsy tissue and pleural effusion liquid, all three of which were found to contain round nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 30 nanometres. Yuguo Song, the lead scientist, claims that these particles were likely to originate in the polyacrylate-based adhesive paints used by the women daily in the course of their work. However, he emphasises that despite repeated efforts, the group has not at this stage been able to obtain precise data on the composition of the paint in question. Likewise, the researchers have not been able to determine the workers' level of exposure through measurement of airborne particles, since the workshop was closed down several months before their investigation began.
Via investigation of the women's working conditions, and analysis of lung biopsy tissue and pleural effusion liquid, researchers at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, together with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control, attempted reconstruct the probable sequence of events that led to the onset of the womens’ poisoning illness.
Source: SafeNano