Health effects

Graphene-family materials are not one toxicology object. GO ≠ cleaved monolayer ≠ dry nanoplatelet powder. [[reference/forms]] · [[reference/safety]] · [[notice|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.

[[topics/policy/2026-09-16-niosh-graphene-exposure]] · [[topics/health/form-route]]