Published: March 19, 2006
United States Funds Studies on Nanotechnology Safety, Health
By Cheryl Pellerin, Washington File
First nanotechnology consumer products inventory available online
After more than 20 years of research into nanotechnology (science on the scale of single atoms and molecules), nanotechnology-based products are starting to appear in a range of consumer goods, and regulatory agencies are gearing up to make sure the new products and processes are safe.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 16 that it has awarded 14 grants totaling $5 million to universities to investigate potential health and environmental effects of manufactured nanomaterials.
Nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, manipulating and manufacturing things on a scale of between 1 nanometer and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter; a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick.
Because of the small size and unique properties of nanoparticles, more research is needed to find out if nanoparticles in manufactured products can enter the human body, and if so, how long they remain.
Researchers also will study the fate and transport of nanoparticles in the environment.
The National Science Foundation estimates that by 2015 nanotechnology will have a $1 trillion impact on the global economy.
Nanotechnology and The Environment
"This emerging field has the potential to transform environmental protection," said George Gray, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Research and Development in the March 16 announcement. "Researchers are now testing iron nanoparticles that could clean up pollutants in large areas of groundwater cheaper and more effectively than any existing techniques."
At the same time, he added, "we must understand whether nanomaterials could negatively impact health or the environment. This research will help determine the viability of nanotechnology as a tool for protecting our environment."
Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA has a program to review and assess new chemicals before they enter into commerce.
The agency also is working with a wide range of entities to develop a stewardship program that would allow EPA to gain a better understanding of the benefits and risks associated with nanomaterials.
The nanotechnology grants were awarded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research grants program in partnership with the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
To date, EPA has funded 65 grants for more than $22 million related to the environmental applications or implications of manufactured nanomaterials.
The agency also has awarded about $2.5 million for nanotechnology research to small businesses through its Small Business Innovation Research program.
Additional information about nanotechnology research grants is available on the EPA Web site.
Inventory of Nanotech Products
The rise of nanotechnology-based consumer products - from laptop computers to cosmetics, sunscreens and stain-resistant fabrics - has proceeded so quietly that it has not been easy for people to learn which products use nanomaterials or nanoprocesses and how those products are entering the marketplace.
On March 10, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington released the first publicly available, online, searchable inventory of nanotechnology-based consumer products.
This inventory is intended to provide the public with a better understanding of how nanotechnology is being applied to a wide range of consumer products, the nanomaterials used, specific brands and the number of products available for consumer use.
The Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory currently lists 213 products by manufacturers from 15 countries: Australia, China, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Additions to the inventory are made as new information is received.
The inventory includes products readily available for purchase that reasonably are believed to be nanotechnology-derived based on claims by manufacturers or other sources.
"We have carried out no evaluations or judgments of any of the products," said Andrew Maynard, science adviser to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, "and everything has been gleaned in one way or another from the Internet."
That is important, he added, "because we wanted a resource that people could use on the Internet and that they could validate for themselves on the Internet."
NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE MARKETPLACE
Each entry contains the product name; company, manufacturer or supplier; country of origin; category and subcategory; product picture and description; link to product Web page; and date of update.
Entries are placed in several consumer-product categories and subcategories:
Appliances (heating, cooling and air, kitchen appliances, laundry and clothing care);
Automotive (exterior, maintenance and accessories);
Goods for children (basics, toys and games);
Electronics and computers (audio, cameras and film, computer hardware, mobile devices and communications, television, video);
Food and beverage (cooking, food, storage, supplements);
Health and fitness (clothing, cosmetics, personal care, sporting goods, sunscreen);
Home and garden (cleaning, construction materials, home furnishings, paint); and
Cross-cutting (coatings).
The products inventory can be browsed or searched. The Web site also offers an analysis of the inventory, a background on the inventory and a section called Nanotechnology 101, which contains links to Web sites that explain the science of nanotechnology.
Another inventory, also compiled by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, lists government-supported research that addresses the environmental, human health and safety implications of nanotechnology.
One aim of the Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Implications inventory is to facilitate and encourage greater public and private-sector, risk-research partnerships. It also is intended to foster international research collaborations in nanotoxicology and environmental effects.
The initial generation of the inventory has basic information on government-funded, risk-related research projects, including summaries, project length, funding sources, budgets, and, if available, results.
According to its Web site, the inventory offers, "the most complete overview of current government-funded research into the environmental, human health and safety implications of nanotechnology to date."
From surveys and polls of the public in the United States, Canada and throughout Europe, said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, "we have learned that the most important way government and industry can increase trust and consumer confidence in nanotechnology is through disclosure and transparency."
A lack of information about products on the market, he added, about their environmental health effects, and about government oversight schemes tends to breed mistrust and suspicion on the part of the public.
About the inventory, Rejeski said, "We felt it was extremely important to begin to disclose information on what's out there."
For more information about nanotechnology, see related article.
Source: U.S. Department of State
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