EDF Health

Are Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes More Like Asbestos Than We Thought?

By John Balbus / Published: April 17, 2008

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

We and many others have made analogies between nanoparticles and asbestos.  The purpose of the analogy has generally been to emphasize the long latency that can occur between exposure to toxic materials and the development and subsequent recognition of disease arising from that exposure.  And, of course, the enormous legal and financial burden of failing to adequately consider risks before allowing widespread exposure.  But a new study suggests that the analogy may be even stronger than we thought:  It may extend to the capacity to cause mesothelioma, the rare form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos. Read More »

Also posted in Emerging science, Health science / Tagged , , | Read 3 Responses

My CNT is Better than Your CNT… Or At Least It’s Different

By / Published: April 7, 2008

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

After posting to this blog the other day, I came across a brand new study characterizing the heterogeneity of carbon nanotubes.  The authors of this study looked at 11 single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from 10 different suppliers and found that SWCNT composition varies dramatically depending on synthesis method, feedstock, purification steps, and other factors.  Read More »

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The Power of Small: Nano Hits the Big Time

By / Published: April 3, 2008

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 »

Posted in Nanotechnology / Comments are closed

Getting to General Principles: Are We Making Progress?

By / Published: April 2, 2008

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

With conventional chemicals, experience has allowed us to articulate general criteria based on chemical properties that identify chemicals of greatest concern.  For example, persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals are assigned a high priority, whereas chemicals that quickly degrade and don’t build up in blood or tissue are, as a rule, likely to be of lower priority.

Concerns about nanomaterials arise from observations that properties that emerge or are greatly enhanced at the nanoscale can alter behavior, including biological activity.  These properties make such materials different from conventional forms of the same chemicals.  But can a general principle that nanomaterials pose a greater concern than their conventional counterparts be supported?  Read More »

Posted in Nanotechnology / Tagged , | Read 2 Responses

Double Standard: Nanotech Is New! Except When That’s Inconvenient

By / Published: March 26, 2008

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

As I noted in an earlier post, the federal government staunchly maintains that regulatory agencies’ current authorities and regulatory structures are adequate.  Yet I sense quite a bit of angst — even panic — in the agencies over how they will actually address the complexities of nanotechnology under those existing authorities and regulatory structures.

The claim that laws developed long before nanotechnology came along can nevertheless manage it flawlessly smacks of a double standard:  If there’s nothing novel here, why is the federal government investing $1.5 billion annually to develop nanotechnology? Read More »

Also posted in Health policy, TSCA reform / Comments are closed

Nano Risk Management Training Workshops

By / Published: March 21, 2008

Scott Walsh, MBA, is a Project Manager.

As we’ve noted in this blog and elsewhere, there’s a ton of uncertainty out there about what potential risks may arise from the production, use and disposal of engineered nanomaterials.  And unfortunately for companies trying to work with such materials (and the rest of us who may be exposed to them), there’s still not much guidance on how to identify, manage and mitigate potential risks.

On April 2nd and April 8th, Terry Medley and Keith Swain from DuPont and I will be leading two interactive workshops on nano risk management.   Read More »

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