Carbon Nanotubes Found In Human Lungs; French Children Fall Victim To Carbon Nanotubes
Indeed, scientists and researchers have found carbon nanotubes in children's lungs, who have asthma, living in Paris.
This news alarmed France as it is an indication that carbon nanotubes, which are evidently man-made, are becoming an air pollutant.
Carbon nanotubes, according to Tech Times, are very light cylindrical carbon molecules. It has good conductivity, high strength and they are known in making nanotechnology and optics.
These are usually being use by different industries but mostly in electronics. Carbon nanotubes can also be created accidentally. These can be a result product of converters in automobile engines, Tech Times added.
Researchers, cited by Discovery News, said that there was no correlation with the nanotubes and having asthma. However, previous research have asked if these carbon nanotubes act as asbestos previous studies have questioned whether carbon nanotubes might act like asbestos or cancer-causing agent, known as carcinogen.
A toxicology researcher, James Bonner, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh said that "In my opinion, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what these structures really are, especially the material in the lung cells from patients," New Scientist reported.
Some suggested that the found molecule form were not the same as nanotubes .
Fathi Moussa and co-workers examine closely the fluid from the airways of 64 children who suffer asthma. They've found nanotubes in all samples. The said study was not meant to define the connection between the nanotubes but, as New Scientist cited, people who have asthma can be more vulnerable as their macrophages' ability to remove waste is damaged.
Jonathan Grigg, an expert from Queen Mary, University of London said that carbon nanotubes are improbable to have the cancer-causing potential of asbestos fibres as they are larger and these can be trapped in the linings in our lungs, New Scientist reported.
Meanwhile, as it was mentioned above, the conducted investigation is not meant for us to know the linkage between the illness and these carbon nanotubes: this serves as a reminder not only for people who suffer from asthma but to everybody; taking responsibility in everything we do even in small things can always affect us in the future.