During the process of tungsten production, small amounts of the metal can be deposited in the environment, eventually making their way into water systems and onto agricultural land. With largely unknown health consequences, tungsten has been identified as a toxicant of emerging concern, the researchers said.
Whilst currently very low, human exposure to tungsten is set to increase, a lead author Jessica Tyrrell said in a statement.We're not yet sure why some members of the population have higher levels of the metal in their make-up, and an important step in understanding and preventing the risks it may pose to health will be to get to the bottom of how it's ending up in our bodies, Tyrrell said.
A relationship of tungsten-stroke relationship observed in a research highlights another example of the potentially negative impact new materials can have on health, the researchers said, urging more research to explore how these compounds might interact together to impact human health.
