The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported on March 4, 2009 that the University of Iowa Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (UINNI) received a $389,303 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study potential health and environmental effects of the tiny industrial building blocks called nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles which are thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair - are an emerging technology used in products from automobile fenders to skin care creams. They are at present found as silver nanoparticles used in socks as an antimicrobial agent to cerium oxide nanoparticle used in the removal of nitrogen oxides from car exhaust to carbon nanotubes used to strengthen car doors. As reported by the Iowa City Press - Citizen, "nanomaterials in general and nanoparticles in particular are being widely used," said Vicki Grassian, Director of the UINNI. "As manufacturing of nanomaterials becomes more commonplace, we can expect that these manufactured materials will get into the environment during production, distribution or use."
Among the concerns of researchers, manufacturers, and environmentalists are the unknowns surrounding nanoparticles - including their persistence in the environment and the possibility that their manufacture could put air and water at risk of contamination. As early as 2004 scientists at the United Kingdom's Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering and risk experts at the world's second largest reinsurance company, Swiss Re, warned that because carbon nanotubes resemble asbestos fibers, sharing many physical properties such as size and shape with asbestos, they may present similar health risks. And at least some research reported by Friends of the Earth Australia (FEA) suggests that nanotubes may be capable of causing inflammation, granuloma development, fibrosis, artery plaque responsible for heart attacks and DNA damage. Additionally, two independent studies have suggested that carbon nanotubes can cause the onset of mesothelioma, which has long been thought to be primarily and uniquely caused by asbestos fibers. FEA has called for a moratorium on the commercial use and sale of carbon nanotubes until safe levels for exposure to the tubes is established through further research.
The UINNI research will include conducting fundamental measurements on the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles and gathering data to predict the environmental fate of commercially manufactured nanoparticles. These data will be used in models to predict the environmental fate of various nanomaterials.
Grassian's comments may be prophetic. "Ultimately, any technology will only be of real value and use to society if the technology is nontoxic or free of a major environmental concern. There is a new awareness of the need to develop technology in a sustainable way, a paradigm promoted by the University of Iowa's Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute."
Larry Chafin
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larry.chafin@steptoe-johnson.com
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