July 2007
Nanotechnology: Cause for concern
No confirmed cases of harm to humans from manufactured nanoparticles have been reported, though government and industry monitoring
has been minimal. But there is cause for concern about the adequacy of regulation as well as several worrisome findings from
the limited laboratory and animal research so far:
- Benign materials can become toxic when nanosized because microscopic particles tend to react more readily with human tissues
and other substances. One test-tube study, for example, suggested that nanoparticles might help transform proteins into substances
linked with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases, though the clinical significance, if any, of that finding is not
known.
- Nanoparticles can enter the body and its vital organs, including the brain, much more easily than can larger particles. And
they’re now used in food additives, cosmetics, and other products that are ingested or applied to the skin. It’s likely that
“humankind has never been exposed to such a wide variety of substances that can penetrate the human body apparently unhindered,”
concluded a report on nanotechnology from insurance-industry giant Swiss Re, whose fortunes depend on adequate risk assessment.
It recommended protective steps, even if the risks haven’t been proved.
- Some nanomaterials seem to linger in the environment--especially in the water supply, where studies suggest they can damage
the ecosystem.
- Traditional safety-assessment methods are not adequate for nanomaterials, which might pose very different risks from those of the same materials at conventional size. Yet of the more than $1 billion the U.S. government spent last year on nanotech research, estimates indicate that only 1 percent to 4 percent went to risk assessment.
Consumers have been left in the dark. More than 80 percent of Americans have heard little or nothing about nanotechnology, according to a March 2007 study led by Yale University researchers. One likely reason: Manufacturers aren’t required to disclose nanotechnology information or the presence of nanomaterials in their labeling.
Fearing that concerns about possible risks will trigger a consumer backlash, some manufacturers avoid the term “nano.” At
a congressional hearing last year, Matthew Nordan, president of Lux Research, a market-research firm specializing in nanotech,
repeated what he said one corporate executive told him: “You won’t hear us talking about nanotech or advertising it in any
way. That’s our strategy for dealing with potential negative publicity."
As a first step toward filling the nanotechnology information gap, this report launches our coverage of nanotechnology. In
addition, the nanoparticles in suncreens include our first test to detect nanoingredients in consumer products.
