title: Health effects description: “Form, dose, and route. Occupational measurements and small human studies.” tags:
- health
Graphene-family materials are not one toxicology object. GO ≠ cleaved monolayer ≠ dry nanoplatelet powder. forms · safety · Notice
Humans
- Worker disease cluster at graphene plants: reviews used by NIOSH still report no known case series in GFN workers. Absence of reports ≠ lifelong proof.
- Controlled GO inhalation (Andrews et al. 2024; NCT03659864): ~14 volunteers, ~2 h at ~200 µg/m³ thin purified GO; no acute change in the markers they tracked. Preliminary; one dose; hours of follow-up.
- Graphene cortical electrodes (NCT06368310, INBRAIN): first-in-human intraoperative set; early writeups of usable signal, no device-linked serious events in that set. Preliminary device data.
- GO as a licensed drug or vaccine ingredient: 2026-era reviews and licensed lists do not name GO. Well-supported as a negative for the slogan.
Animals and cells
High-dose rodent lung protocols can inflame and, in some designs, trend fibrotic. Outcome tracks size, thickness, oxidation, metals, respirable fraction. A cell-culture IC50 is not an occupational limit.
Workplaces
NIOSH field work (44 workers, 11 US sites, elemental carbon): respirable about <0.01–1,825 µg/m³; inhalable about 0.01–6,327 µg/m³; dry-powder primary plants higher than masterbatch shops; many samples above a conservative <10 µg/m³ band — not an OSHA PEL. Band E in the NIOSH case study.