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Every time a new material comes out, people get excited, and manufacturers assume it's safe; it's only years later that we discover that the plastic we drink out of or make baby pacifiers from actually releases endocrine disrupters, and that asbestos is not something you should breathe in.

Now research is coming to light showing that carbon nanotubes can have the same effect as asbestos and eventually lead to cancer.

Within days of being injected into mice, the nanotubes -- which are increasingly used in electronic components, sporting goods and dozens of other products -- triggered a kind of cellular reaction that over a period of years typically leads to mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer, researchers said.

...the preliminary evidence of cancer risk is strong enough to justify urgent follow-up tests and government guidance for nano factory workers, who are most likely to be exposed, experts said. Others called for labels to guide consumers or recyclers, who might encounter the material when incinerating or otherwise destroying discarded nano products.

via washington post