Nanotechnology In The Environment: Making Sure Wonder Materials Don't Become Wonder Pollutants

Summary posted by Meridian on 4/9/2008
Source: ScienceDaily
Author: n/a

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, both in the U.S., have studied ten types of commercially-made carbon nanotubes with different compositions to determine the chemical byproducts of their manufacturing processes and devise methods for monitoring them in the environment. The article says that “most previous toxicity studies have generally assumed that all nanotubes are the same,” but that their “diversity of chemical signatures will make it harder to trace the impacts of carbon nanotubes in the environment.” According to the article, the researchers found in an earlier study that the carbon nanotube manufacturing process results in the emission of at least 15 aromatic hydrocarbons, including four types of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The researchers now plan to collect real-time data from a European nanotube manufacturing plant. Researcher Desirée Plata said, “We want to work proactively with the carbon nanotube industry to avoid repeating environmental mistakes of the past. Instead of reacting to problems, we hope to preclude them altogether." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

The original article may still be available at www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408132129.htm

As tagged by Meridian Institute:

Implications: Environmental Risks
Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanoparticle
Regions: North America
Stakeholders: Industry, Academia

Related Forums:

• Environmental Risks

print format