Posts in 'Environment'
November 26, 2008 |
Posted by John Balbus in
Environment, Health, ISO, Industry, U.S. Government
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 »
November 18, 2008 |
Posted by Cal Baier-Anderson in
Carbon Nanotubes, Consumer Products, EPA, Environment, Fullerenes, Health, Regulation
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 »
October 13, 2008 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Carbon Nanotubes, EPA, Environment, Health, Inhalation, Regulation, TSCA, Testing, Worker Safety
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 »
October 9, 2008 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Carbon Nanotubes, EPA, Environment, Health, Inhalation, Regulation, TSCA, Testing, Worker Safety
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 »
October 2, 2008 |
Posted by John Balbus in
Environment, Health, ISO, Industry, U.S. Government
John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.
At its most recent meeting a few weeks ago, the US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee on Nanotechnologies approved a motion to have ISO develop a Technical Report based on the EDF-Dupont Nano Risk Framework (NRF). Or to put it another way in acronym-laden Washington-speak, the US TAG to the ANSI-accredited ISO TC229 approved a TR based on the EDF-DD NRF. Read more »
June 9, 2008 |
Posted by Cal Baier-Anderson in
Consumer Products, Environment, Health, Research
Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.
The proliferation of nanoscale materials in consumer products is impressive: nano titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreen, buckyballs in face creams, and nanosilver in socks are but a few examples of what is currently available for purchase. But they make me wonder: what happens when the nanomaterials in or released from these products are washed down the drain? Read more »
June 6, 2008 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Environment, Health, NNI, Policy
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 5940), by a vote of 407-6. Among other changes, the bill calls for a number of much-needed improvements in how the NNI addresses health and environmental concerns associated with nanotechnology. See EDF’s news release issued today.
May 9, 2008 |
Posted by John Balbus in
Environment, Health, In Vitro, Risk Assessment
John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.
The history of health and environmental impacts of fuel additives is not a pretty one. From tetra-ethyl lead to methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), we’ve learned the hard way that what goes in the tank ends up in our bodies and the environment sooner or later. Getting a thorough understanding of the potential risks of a new fuel additive at an early stage is essential to avoid a lot of harm, suffering, and economic costs down the line.
A new study by Park et al. has assessed the potential respiratory risks of a fuel additive called Envirox (nanoparticulate cerium oxide), giving it a clean bill of health based only on in vitro tests. Is this the vision of the future of risk assessment? Should we feel safe? Read more »
April 29, 2008 |
Posted by Cal Baier-Anderson in
Consumer Products, EPA, Environment, Health, Nanosilver
Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.
A recent article posted on scienceline includes a claim that bacteria cannot develop resistance to silver, which is widely used as an antimicrobial. That assertion is not only false, but also dangerous. Read more »
April 3, 2008 |
Posted by Richard Denison in
Environment, Health
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Or at least the small screen. Coming to your local PBS station this month is a three-part series on nanotechnology called The Power of Small. The segments cover three facets of the much-needed social debate about nanotechnology: privacy issues (e.g., nano-enabled tracking devices), ethical issues (focusing on the potential to greatly extend human life expectancy), and, of course, the environmental risks and applications. Read more »
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