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ETC News: More Evidence for Moratorium on Synthetic Nanoparticles

 

ETC Group

News Release

April 14, 2003

www.etcgroup.org

 

 

Size Matters!

ETC Group: New information provides more evidence for mandatory moratorium on

synthetic nanoparticles

 

The ETC Group today releases a new Occasional Paper, " No Small Matter II: The

Case for a Global Moratorium - Size Matters! " The report calls on governments to

adopt a moratorium on synthetic nanomaterials that are being manufactured in the

laboratory and in some cases commercialized, in the absence of testing for

health, safety and environmental impacts. The full text is available at:

http://www.etcgroup.org/

 

" Even though industry is scaling up the manufacture of nanoparticles and carbon

nanotubes there appear to be no government regulations in Europe or North

America to ensure the safety of workers or consumers, " says Kathy Jo Wetter, ETC

Group researcher. " A few national governments are beginning to consider some

aspects of nanotech regulation but no government is giving full consideration to

the socioeconomic, environmental, and health implications of this powerful new

industry, " notes Wetter. The ETC Group reports that nanoparticles are already

available to consumers in sunscreens (including some intended for children, from

infancy onwards) and cosmetics, among other products. However, regulators do not

test nano-sized materials for health, safety and environmental impacts if their

macro- or micro-sized counterparts have already been approved.

 

" In light of this astonishing negligence, " says Pat Mooney, Executive Director

of ETC Group, " and because consumers are already being exposed to synthetic

nanoparticles, the call for a mandatory moratorium is the only reasonable policy

response. "

 

Atomtech (or nanotech, as the industry prefers to call it) refers to the

manipulation of matter on the scale of the nanometer, where atoms and molecules

are measured in billionths of meters. Ordinary materials such as carbon, when

reduced to the nanoscale, often exhibit novel and unpredictable traits such as

extraordinary strength, chemical reactivity, electrical conductivity, or other

characteristics that the same material does not possess at the micro or

macro-scale. Companies are already producing tons of nano-scale particles (pure

elements, simple compounds and composites) for use in bulk sprays, powders and

coatings. Today, nanoparticles are used in the manufacture of transparent

sunscreens and cosmetics, scratch-resistant eyeglasses, stain-repellant fabrics,

anti-graffiti coatings for walls, and more. Some of the materials are familiar

compounds that have not previously been marketed on the nanoscale. Other

synthetic forms of nano-scale carbon - such as nanotubes- are being manufactured

for the first time and two recent studies indicate that they can cause damage to

lung tissue in mice.

 

According to the ETC Group, the current market for nanoparticles is small, but

analysts predict it will exceed $900 million by 2005. Some of the world's

largest companies (DuPont, BASF, L'Oréal, Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi, Toyota,

and IBM) as well as some of the world's smallest (NanoProducts, Nanophase,

Altair) are ratcheting up nanomaterial research quickly. Nanoparticles represent

Phase I of a new industrial revolution, which the US National Science Foundation

values at $1 trillion by 2015. Atomtech cuts across every industrial sector and

will affect every national economy. The potential impact of nanoparticles - for

good or ill - on the environment and on human health is enormous.

 

" If the industry can't be trusted with the safe development of nanoparticles, it

will have no credibility when it comes to atomtech's more sophisticated

applications - such as molecular self-assembly, " says Hope Shand of ETC Group.

" Unless the scientific community gets behind the call for a moratorium, the

future of this emerging technology could be irreparably damaged, " says Shand.

 

ETC Group examines two cases of nano-scale materials that highlight the

scientific muddle and regulatory vacuum: 1) the case of carbon nanotubes and, 2)

the case of nano-scale titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

 

ETC Group points out that three recent studies on carbon nanotube toxicity are

inadequate and inconclusive. Although some researchers have found that some

kinds of nanotubes can be highly toxic, no government agency is regulating

laboratory research or the commercial introduction of carbon nanotubes -

atomtech's so-called " miracle molecule. "

 

ETC Group also highlights the potential risks surrounding titanium dioxide and

zinc oxide - nanoscale materials that are widely used in over-the-counter

products such as sunscreens and cosmetics. " Government regulators are ducking

responsibility for nanosafety by assuming that novel nanoparticles are the same

as their larger-scale relations, " points out Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group, " but

research shows that ultrafine nanoparticles could enter the human body and pose

a human health hazard, " said Ribeiro.

 

Although nanoparticle manufacturers have suggested that they might be able to

control the particle size and surface chemistry of their nanoscale materials to

eliminate potential toxic effects, very few toxicology studies have been

conducted. To further complicate matters, there is currently no standardized

method for measuring the size of nanoparticles.

 

The ETC Group's new report on nanosafety includes a 6-page paper entitled

" Nano-particles and Toxicity, " authored by Dr. Vyvyan Howard of the

Developmental Toxico-Pathology unit of the University of Liverpool (UK). Among

Dr. Howard's findings:

 

" Research is now showing that when normally harmless bulk materials are made

into ultrafine particles [nanoparticles] they tend to become toxic. Generally,

the smaller the particles, the more reactive and toxic their effect. This should

come as no surprise, because that is exactly the way in which catalysts are

made, to enhance industrial chemical reactions. By making particles of just a

few hundred atoms you create an enormous amount of surface, which tends to

become electrically charged, and thus chemically reactive. "

 

Dr. Howard concludes: " There is considerable evidence that UFPs [ultrafine

nanoparticles] are toxic and therefore potentially hazardous. The basis of this

toxicity is not fully established but a prime candidate for consideration is the

increased reactivity associated with very small size. The toxicity of UFPs does

not appear to be very closely related to the type of material from which the

particles are made, although there is still much research to be done before this

question is fully answered. "

 

In the absence of toxicology studies, transparent regulations and widespread

public debate on the socio-economic, health and environmental impacts of

atomtech, governments must act responsibly by adopting a moratorium on

laboratory use of synthetic nanoparticles. ETC Group urges governments to begin

negotiating a legally-binding International Convention for the Evaluation of New

Technologies (ICENT).

 

 

 

For more information:

 

Kathy Jo Wetter / Hope Shand, ETC Group (USA)

Tel: 919 960-5223

kjo hope

 

Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group (Mexico)

Tel: +52-55-55-63-26-64

silvia

 

Pat Mooney, ETC Group (Canada)

Tel: 204 453-5259

 

Jim Thomas, ETC Group (UK)

Not available until April 22

Tel: +44 0 18652 07818

jim

 

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Upcoming: Seminar on Nanotechnology for Policymakers, Civil Society and the

Media at the European Parliament in Brussels – June 11, 2003.

 

On June 11, 2003 a range of parliamentarians and expert speakers will describe

the current state of nanotechnology, examine its risks and promises and propose

steps toward regulating this powerful new technology.

 

Details available: http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=390

For more information, contact:

 

Jim Thomas, ETC Group

c/o The Ethical Property Company

9 Park End Street

Oxford, Oxfordshire

OX1 1HH,

England.

Phone: +44 (0)1865 207818

jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly RAFI, is an

international civil society organization headquartered in Canada. The ETC group

is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human

rights. www.etcgroup.org. The ETC group is also a member of the Community

Biodiversity Development and Conservation Programme (CBDC). The CBDC is a

collaborative experimental initiative involving civil society organizations and

public research institutions in 14 countries. The CBDC is dedicated to the

exploration of community-directed programmes to strengthen the conservation and

enhancement of agricultural biodiversity. The CBDC website is

www.cbdcprogram.org

 

 

 

 

 

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