Nanoparticles - One Word: A Multiplicity of Different Hazards
Twelve leading scientists have published a memorandum in the journal Nanotoxicology, in an effort to draw attention to how the term "nanoparticles" is being used indiscriminately, particularly in the titles of scientific papers and statements to the press. This has been common in the past without stating the nature of the nanoparticle being studied.
The researchers cite, as a recent example, a paper that linked nanoparticles to seven very serious cases of occupational lung and pleural injury, two of which resulted in death, in China. The article's title, "Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma", they say, is dangerously misleading, and draws a link between generic nanoparticles and the observed effects. The title indicates that a new, causative link between nanoparticles and severe, even fatal, lung condition, has been identified, when, the scientists argue, this conclusion is premature and requires more data to support such a link.
"Five years into serious hazard-based toxicology of manufactured nanoparticles and 20 years into the toxicology of environmental ultrafines, we know that there is a clear spectrum of toxicity associated with nanoparticles, and that failing to differentiate between different chemistries, sizes, shapes and other attributes can cause confusion. We can no more generalize about ‘nanoparticles’ than we can about ‘particles’ more widely."
The writers of the memorandum respectfully remind the scientific community, and all who publish and review papers on the human health impacts of engineered nanomaterials, to consider the following: "[E]nsure that all descriptions of nanoparticle hazards recognize the intrinsic heterogeneity of the nanoparticle hazard and discuss the uncertainty of alleged causality; Ensure that there is a convincing and scientifically sustainable link between any nanoparticle exposure and any pathological outcomes putatively associated with that exposure; and, Ensure that sufficient physical and chemical characterization data are provided on the nanoparticles in question to support valid data interpretation and comparison."Authors (in alphabetical order):
- Dr Rob Aitken - SAFENANO, Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, UK
- Professor Paul Borm - Hogeschool Zuyd, Heerlen, the Netherlands
- Professor Ken Donaldson - University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Professor Gaku Ichihara - Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- Professor Steffen Loft - University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Professor Francelyne Marano - Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7, Paris, France
- Dr Andrew Maynard - Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC, USA
- Professor Günter Oberdörster - University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
- Dr Herman Stamm - European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
- Professor Vicki Stone - Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
- Dr Lang Tran - Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, UK
- Professor Hakan Wallin - National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
Source: Nanoparticles – one word: A multiplicity of different hazards on SafeNano.org
Nanotoxicology Paper on informa healthcare