From the Google translated version of the article it looks like it's only dangerous when burned.
To be fair, most things are dangerous when burned.
I seem to remember hearing that sofas release cyanide when burned.
German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
51–57 of 57 posts
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess there is a point that the dust will always be around the car. But while driving it does not look like the driver would be affected by it: http://www.ozeninc.com/images/hpc-carmesh-2.jpg
They're racing against other cars, cars to the right, cars to the left, cars in front. I don't see what the aerodynamic profile is meant to inform us?
If I were to hazard a guess: the fact that air is directed over and around the driver's compartment would mean that at racing speeds, someone around or in front of your car releasing an aerosol would mean you're unlikely to be exposed to it
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#53Translated highlights:
Carbon fiber once burned at high temperature breaks down sufficiently for it to penetrate mucous membranes. The risk highlighted by the Germans here relates to the ash left over after the fire. i.e. Hinting a potential long term dangers / contamination from the ash floating around.
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#54I find it interesting that this article was yanked from Hacker News just as quickly as I saw it. I clicked on the link, wanted to go to the discussion and had to find it through search in spite of its high vote count and recent submission.
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not what the OP was talking about however. The fact that carbon fibers are not present in nature only tells us that we didn't have to evolve anything protecting us from it if it's really dangerous (since it was never a selection criteria). That doesn't mean it's necessarily harmful though.
Disagree; OP was talking about why no animal in nature produces carbon fibre, given its dangerous to others nearby. Was it ecological pressure? I answered, yes that's possible.
He was contrasting it with diamond and graphite. I don't think animals produce those either. It seems more like the topic was why nature in general does not produce carbon fiber, not animals specifically.
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#56I find it interesting that this article was yanked from Hacker News just as quickly as I saw it. I clicked on the link, wanted to go to the discussion and had to find it through search in spite of its high vote count and recent submission.
Hacker News is an English-language site. This is not to disparage content in other languages; it's just what HN is. Posts not in English mostly get demoted, unless they're of major significance and nothing is available in translation.
Re: German armed forces warn that carbon fiber might be cancer-causing
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Washing air-breathing lungs with water sounds problematic, although with fluro-carbons and the prevalence of lung cancer I am not going to say no-one hasn't tried !
You could wash one lung at a time. Or use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Water in an of itself won't hurt lungs as long as the patient gets enough oxygen.
"Water in an of itself won't hurt lungs"
Yes it does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowning#Secondary_drowning
If you ever get saved from near drowning, you are still not safe.