EDF Health

Shanghai diary

By John Balbus / Published: November 26, 2008

John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

Some 216 delegates representing 26 countries converged on the largest city in China last week for the 7th meeting of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC 229) on Nanotechnologies.

In China, the turtle symbolizes cosmic order, strength, endurance and wisdom.  In the US, the turtle has come to symbolize slow progress and not keeping up with the times.  Which representation better captures what’s going on in ISO’s TC 229?   Maybe a little of both. Read More »

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Down the Drain, then Down the Hatch

By Cal Baier-Anderson / Published: November 18, 2008

Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.

Can nanoparticles get into our drinking water and if so, what’s the harm?

Nanoparticles are being used in cosmetics and other personal care products with increasing frequency.  Carbon fullerenes, also known as buckyballs, have recently been touted as imparting age-defying antioxidant benefits when added to skin cream.  And there are some studies that seem to support these claims.  But even if such claimed benefits turn out to be true, this is by no means the end of the story.  Read More »

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Yes, Virginia, inhaled carbon nanotubes do cause lung granulomas

By Richard Denison / Published: October 31, 2008

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

My last post identified two Section 8(e) “substantial risk” notices pertaining to carbon nanotubes, one submitted by BASF, the other by Arkema.  I have in my files one additional Section 8(e) notice for a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), submitted by DuPont.  With three Section 8(e) notices submitted for different rat pulmonary toxicity studies on carbon nanotubes, it’s interesting to compare their results. Read More »

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A. Length, B. Metals, C. Oxygen, D. Surface, or E. All of the Above?

By Cal Baier-Anderson / Published: October 29, 2008

Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.

The manufacture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a very complicated business.  Different production processes leave behind different kinds of metal catalysts, which yield differences in physical and chemical – as well as toxicological – properties of the CNTs.  Read More »

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EPA’s Nano Consent Order, Part II: What About the Lifecycle?

By Richard Denison / Published: October 13, 2008

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Since my first post concerning EPA’s Consent Order, I’ve been reflecting further on the management conditions it imposes – or, more accurately, on what conditions it doesn’t impose.  The Order’s only such conditions address potential worker exposure.  What about the rest of the nanomaterial’s lifecycle? Read More »

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EPA’s Nano Consent Order, Part I: “Sanitized” Transparency is Still Very Revealing

By Richard Denison / Published: October 9, 2008

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

[Part II of this post is available here.]

Word hit the street today that EPA intends to make public a “sanitized” version of a Consent Order it has negotiated with a producer of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs).  [A link will be provided once available.]  We obtained a copy of the Order, which has redacted all information claimed confidential by the company involved.  What can we learn from this well-scrubbed Order? Read More »

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