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Does anybody know if the environmental impact of graphene is supposed to be any better than that of plastic? Does it break down more easily as it is so thin? I’
by ezequiel-garzon 7y ago
Does anybody know if the environmental impact of graphene is supposed to be any better than that of plastic? Does it break down more easily as it is so thin? I’m worried we may outdo ourselves with the magic compound of the century...
- ekingr 7y agoAnother major 'environmental' impact that may be very nefarious is the health effect of such nano-materials. We don't want to re-create all the mess that we have today form asbestos -- which was also a wonder-material at the time.
- village-idiot 7y agoThe problem with asbestos wasn’t really the toxicity per se, it’s that the companies using it hid the toxicity to avoid having to do all the expensive safety steps that would let them use asbestos without killing people. We can avoid this with carbon nanotubes and similar if we’re honest about the risks and careful with how we handle them.
- hanniabu 7y agoThis will probably happen again given all the money that's on the line.
- village-idiot 7y agoThe fact that we’re talking about it here implies that we’re in a better place than we were a century ago.
- dasil003 7y agoA century ago yes, fifty years ago I'm not so sure, thirty years ago almost certainly not.
- agumonkey 7y agoThere's at least a little bit of study regarding graphene toxicity. Hopefully nothing as massive as asbestos will ensue.
- nabla9 7y agoGraphene nanoparticle toxicity is under active study. It seems to depend on the form and size of the graphene structure. * Carbon nanotubes may be as dangerous as asbestos for similar reasons. They act like spikes that stick into cells. * Graphene nanoplatelets are shown to trigger the inflammatory response (in vivo and in vitro) in lung cells. Something that normal carbon black don't do.