Study sounds 'nanomaterials' alert
Updated on 12 November 2008
There is an urgent need for more research to check if "nanomaterials" already used in products such as clothes could damage human health or the environment, experts have said.
A number of different tiny materials - which range from about the size of a DNA molecule to the size of a virus - are already in some 600 products globally including socks and sun cream, while 1,500 have been patented.
But while there is "no evidence" they are harmful to health or nature, some of the materials being utilised could have the potential to do damage, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution warned.
The Commission's chairman Professor Sir John Lawton said there was a "major gap" between the increasing use of nanomaterial technology in products and data on whether they are safe.
Laboratory tests suggest a number of materials could be of concern, he said, including nanosilver which is used in socks and sports clothing to reduce odours by killing bacteria.
But the nanosilver, which is much more toxic than bleach and does not degrade, could come out in the wash and enter the water system where it could damage the bacteria in sewage works or have other environmental impacts, experts warned.
Sir John said: "It's clearly very early in the development of these technologies, and at this stage we've found no evidence of nanomaterials causing harm to human health or the environment.
"However, would we know if nanomaterials were causing harm? No we wouldn't. There's no evidence of harm, but a lot of that is because of a lack of evidence."
A new report by the Royal Commission on nanomaterials rejects an outright ban on the technology because of the "huge" benefits from various materials which have been developed. For example, titanium dioxide in sunscreen is very effective in helping prevent skin cancer.
But Sir John said there should be "a major and urgent increase in testing" to see if products were safe, focusing first on those about which there might be concerns.
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