Scientists have found that carbon nanotubes, exotic form of carbon that are being tested for many positive applications in nanotechnology, if inhaled in large quantities, could be as dangerous as asbestos. The researchers found carbon nanotubes causing the same kind of damage as asbestos in mice.

Two studies have reported such findings on Carbon nanotubes, which have not yet been made consumer products or used in medical treatments. One study by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and colleagues in the United Kingdom has appeared in Nature Nanotechnology. The other study by the National Institute of Health Sciences in Japan has appeared in the Journal of Toxicological Sciences.

The researchers in two studies have found carbon nanotubes form in threads of varying thickness and length on the atomic scale. They have found that long needle-like multi-walled carbon nanotubes resemble asbestos in structure and cause the same kind of tissue damage when injected into lab mice.

The boffins who studied the effects of exposure to nanotubes on mice, have reported that certain varieties of nanotube could cause mesothelioma, a cancer which affects the lung lining.

Dr. Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies who co wrote the report noted that people really had, "very little information about what types of carbon nanotubes are in products". He also pointed out that nanotubes came in a plethora of shapes and sizes, each with its own chemical behaviour.

Maynard said, "We don't know if the products on the market contain harmful nanotubes or safe nanotubes or even whether those nanotubes can come out of those products. Nanotubes are a billion dollar market and are an essential part of the technology industry. The business community needs to very rapidly understand how to manage the [nanotube] issue, how to ensure their products are safe.”