e360 digest

26 Jan 2012: Panel Urges Comprehensive
Study Of Nanotechnology Safety

A U.S. scientific panel is calling for a systematic study of the growing use of nanomaterials in industry, saying little is known about the risk of the microscopic particles increasingly being used in everything

Nanotech: The Unknown Risks

Nanotechnology, now used in everything from computers to toothpaste, is booming. But as Carole Bass reported in 2008, there were already rising concerns that its development was outpacing our understanding of how to use it safely.
READ THE e360 REPORT

from cosmetics to clothing and paint. The National Research Council (NRC), part of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, noted that the use of nanomaterials — measured on the scale of billionths of a meter — is growing rapidly, rising from $225 billion in nanotechnology-based products in 2009 to an estimated $3 trillion by 2015. But the NRC said that little is known about the potential risks posed by nanomaterials, the pathways and plausibility of exposure, and the severity of such exposure. The NRC called for a systematic research effort that would identify sources of nanomaterials releases, the different industrial processes that affect exposure and hazards, and nanomaterial interactions from a sub-cellular to an ecosystem level. Nanomaterials — often made from minerals such as gold, silver, carbon, zinc, and aluminum — have unique electrical, chemical, and optical properties. “The number and variety of nanomaterials is just mind-boggling,” said Mark R. Wiesner, an engineering professor at Duke University and a member of the panel.

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

Coal Pollution and the Fight For Environmental Justice

How Mussel Farming Could Help to Clean Fouled Waters

A Key Experiment to Probe the Future of Our Acidifying Oceans

As Final U.S. Decision Nears, A Lively Debate on GM Salmon

Long Outlawed in the West, Lead Paint Sold in Poor Nations

A Leading Marine Biologist Works to Create a ‘Wired Ocean’

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network