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by hexscrews 4022 days ago
Has the problem with organic contamination been resolved one way or another? I remember reading that it can be hazardous to fish?
1 comments

Carbon nanotubes exist in many forms, including animal cells. I don't think such a technology is straightforwardly hazardous or not.

Personally, I would prefer carbon nanotubes to toxic, rare metals.

Yes, and one nice thing about carbon nanotubes is there are many good options for waste stream destruction and disposal. Unlike things like lead and asbestos, which are immortal wastes.
I have to disagree. Just having nanotubes flying around your blood stream could probably lead to cirrhosis as the nanotubes of a certain length or more would get trapped inside the liver, causing scaring and damage ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19801780) similar to how miners can get miner's lung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumoconiosis).

Ultimately it depends on what form the nanotubes are in, but I don't want them just going nilly-willy around an environment.

> I don't want them just going nilly-willy around an environment.

To be fair, you can say this about pretty much anything. But unlike microbeads, which are intended to be flushed, nobody is suggesting that it would be a good idea to release them into the environment.

> To be fair, you can say this about pretty much anything. But unlike microbeads, which are intended to be flushed, nobody is suggesting that it would be a good idea to release them into the environment.

Very true. I'm surrounded by stainless steel but I don't get chromium poisoning. I'm just worried about side effects, about extra CWNT getting out into the open, like how prescription drugs are appearing in the environment.