PEN on nano-sunscreens

The use of nanoparticles in sunscreen formulations may be raising unnecessary alarm, Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, suggested during a Jan. 14 presentation in Washington. "There are going to be many products which use nanoscale materials which are no more dangerous than products that use non-nanomaterials," he said. That is not to say that further research is not warranted; Maynard noted that distinguishing between safe and unsafe sunscreens will require a "better level of knowledge" than currently is had. In fall 2008, Consumers Union issued a report packaged as an exposé of sunscreens that are marketed as nanotech-free but actually contain nanoparticles, possibly signaling a need for greater transparency from industry, as well as for consumer education (1"The Rose Sheet" Nov. 10, 2008, p. 3). Nanoparticles increasingly are being used in dietary supplements as well, and William B. Schultz, former FDA deputy commissioner for policy, thinks FDA should be granted the authority to regulate such products more intensively