Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
It had to happen sooner or later. After several years spent by the UK and US governments conceptualizing, vetting, proposing, again vetting, developing, yet again vetting, and finally launching and reporting on their voluntary reporting programs for engineered nanoscale materials – only to have them largely spurned by the intended targets – other governments observing all this have decided that mandatory approaches are needed. Read More
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
It’s been nearly a year since EPA launched its voluntary Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) – and over three years since EPA was urged, by a diverse group of stakeholders, to do so only in conjunction with the development of mandatory reporting rules as a backstop and to limit the duration of the basic part of the program to at most six months.
EPA ignored that advice, and proceeded with an open-ended voluntary program and no development of backstop rules. Now EPA has issued its first evaluation of the NMSP. So what did EPA find? Read More
Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.
In 2004, Gunter Oberdorster and colleagues demonstrated that upon inhalation, ultrafine particles, the dimensions of which are measured in nanometers, can move from the nasal passages of rodents to the brain via a specialized nerve called the olfactory bulb. The evolutionary purpose of the olfactory bulb is to relay information about odors directly and rapidly from the nose to the brain.
The extent to which rapid transit via the olfactory bulb is a significant potential route of exposure to engineered nanomaterials is still an open question. But two new papers add support for the relevance of this intriguing exposure pathway, raising important questions regarding the safety of inhaled nanoparticles.
Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
In some nanotechnology circles, it is almost a mantra that, once released to the environment, nanoparticles will inevitably aggregate or agglomerate into larger masses and thereby lose their nanoscale-related properties and, by implication at least, any associated risks.
But can we count on nanoparticles released to the environment to self-regulate their own risk so conveniently? Read More
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
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
