Doctors Claim New Evidence that Nanotechnology Can Make Workers Sick

August 18, 2014

(Forbes) – Nanotechnology has blossomed into a $20 billion business, with a huge presence in manufacturing. Now there’s new evidence suggesting that the use of nanoparticles on the production line might be causing serious health effects in workers. In what is claimed to be the first published case of its kind in North America, a 26-year-old chemist handling nanoparticle nickel powder, used in the making of ink fluid, developed symptoms of throat irritation, nasal congestion and skin rash. Exposure to the material appears to have triggered a first-ever allergic reaction to the worker’s earrings and belt buckle, which contained nickel.