Nanotech safety
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
"Many nanotech companies and laboratories believe nanoparticles - specks of matter that are smaller than living cells - may pose specific environmental and health risks to workers," according to a Nov. 13 release from the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON). The multi-stakeholder group acknowledges that risks to workers - who represent the front lines of the nanotech revolution and interact with the materials in their raw form - are likely greater than those to consumers. However, the research at issue - commissioned by ICON from the University of California, Santa Barbara, which surveyed 64 organizations across the globe - could be employed by activists as evidence that sunscreens and cosmetics containing engineered nanoparticles demand more intensive study and stricter FDA regulation (1"The Rose Sheet" May 22, 2006, p. 3). The report is available at 2http://icon.rice.edu...