Consumers Unions scientists spend a lot of time thinking about how people can get hurt by using—or misusing— everyday products. That task becomes about a billion times harder when the products contain engineered nanoscale materials, substances some 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
So difficult is this challenge that the federal government has been holding a
series of workshops to consult with scientists and stakeholders about the type of research needed to develop tests that can accurately predict whether a nanoscale material will be safe or harmful. Testing these substances requires a new set of protocols and equipment that even the world's leading scientists have yet to figure out. The outcome of the workshops, organized by a coalition of federal research and regulatory agencies known as the
National Nanotechnology Initiative, will help shape the kinds of research to be funded by taxpayers.
The vastly different properties that emerge in substances engineered at this tiny scale can have direct and profound effects on health and safety. For example, titanium dioxide has long been considered a relatively benign compound in its natural form. But new research has shown that engineered titanium dioxide nanoparticles are highly toxic to DNA when ingested. And when injected into pregnant mice, some forms can affect gene expression in the developing fetus. Carbon nanotubes, a new group of compounds used to make lightweight plastics stronger than steel, have been shown in several animal studies to cause the same kind of damage to the lungs as asbestos. Despite such findings, government agencies have yet to stop companies from using nanoscale ingredients or to require labeling for the growing number of consumer products that contain them, including face creams, golf balls, cleaning products and food-packaging materials.
Consumers Union, along with other public interest groups and some responsible companies, has been working to urge government agencies to require pre-market safety testing for nanoscale substances and to mandate product labeling to track their use. Included in that agenda is taxpayer-funded research to make sure that consumer, worker, and environmental protections are put ahead of corporate profits.
—Carolyn Cairns, CU program leader for product safety
