Super Eco

Nanotechnology, or "nanotech," is an emerging market that deals with materials on a molecular or atomic scale. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. (There are one million nanometers in a millimeter!) Nanotech engineering involves dimensions of 100 nanometers or smaller. The unique nature of these materials opens the door to new environmental pollution concerns.

The only regulatory oversight of nanotech work in the US is the EPA's Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program. The program is voluntary, and at this point only twenty-eight of the more than six hundred companies working with nanotech materials have enrolled. Since nanotech programs often contain confidential business information the EPA has permitted virtually no public access to information collected by the program.

Human health and safety risks associated with nanotech are not yet well understood. Some researchers are concerned that carbon nanotubes will have the same effect as asbestos, leading to mesotelioma if inhaled. Nanoparticle toxicology is in its infancy and much more testing needs to be done to assess health hazards.

In 2005, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) was organized by the Pew Charitable Trust and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. One of the project's products is an inventory of nanotechnology-based consumer products currently on the market. As of August, 2008 there were more than 800 products listed, including more than 500 "Health and Fitness" products. One such is a transparent zinc oxide ointment to prevent sunburn. When zinc oxide is reduced to nano-particulate size, it loses the whiteness that we are used to seeing on lifeguards at the beach. PEN is particularly wary regarding nanotech food additives. They report that the FDA provides no oversight, and the use of nano additives has not been adequately tested.

(Photo credit: jurvetson, Flickr)