Carbon nanotubes risks, safety and occupational health at research laboratories

Abstract

Over the last decades, nanomaterials have been incorporated on several products, from creams to space suits. The incorporation of nanomaterials into products has blow up the potential applications of nanotechnology for which revenues reached 1 trillion dollars. Carbon nanotubes represent a third of all nanomaterials in those products. Development of new products involves a life cycle. This cycle starts from the research lab to the production line, market and finally the landfills. Labs are scenarios where researchers are in contact with cutting edge materials with unknown side effects. The present document explores the requirements to safety handling of carbon nanotubes at research labs, limiting the exposure and avoiding the side effects from an occupational health view. It is the result of the development and implementation of safety protocols for carbon nanotubes handling at the engineering laboratories of the Universidad de los Andes. This protocol can be adapted to other institutions and companies.