Current Intelligence Bulletin 70: Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials

摘要

Nanoscale silver particles are some of the most widely used nanomaterials in commerce, with numerous uses in consumer and medical products. Workers who produce or use silver nanomaterials are potentially exposed to those materials in the workplace. Previous authoritative assessments of occupational exposure to silver did not account for particle size. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) assessed potential health risk from occupational exposure to silver nanomaterials by evaluating more than 100 studies of silver nanomaterials in animals or cells. In studies that involved human cells, silver nanomaterials were associated with toxicity (cell death and DNA damage) that varied according to the size of the particles. In animals exposed to silver nanomaterials by inhalation or other routes of exposure, silver tissue concentrations were elevated in all organs tested.