Synthetic nanomaterials
form part of a gigantic emerging market world-wide with expected growth rates
of about 23 percent. Only a few years ago, nanomaterials were viewed as barely out of
science fiction, with highly promising applications but also novel risks. To
date, no labeling requirements exist that would alert consumers to potential
near- or long term hazards to the environment, even though the European Union
has a directive on cosmetic labeling that will enter into force in July 2013. Some nanomaterials cannot be
degraded naturally or filtered and recycled by waste processing plants; some
involve risks similar to asbestos, and others may facilitate development of
bacterial resistance against their very antibacterial proprieties currently used
in hospitals.
Absent mandatory
labeling and registration, consumers cannot determine today whether a product
contains nanomaterials. While nanoparticle applications feature them typically
bound in other compounds, those are hardly
problematic and almost never pose health hazards. But the same cannot be said about
production processes and waste disposal. Nanoparticles can be suspended in air,
breathed in, and can enter the bloodstream. They can also penetrate various
sensitive areas of the environment. Little is known about the dispersion,
behavior, and chemical qualities of aging and disintegrating nanoparticles. The
benefits of nanotechnology are seldom in dispute – but the question is how to
assess and balance benefits and risks appropriately, so that the hygienic,
protective, energy, weight, or physical advantages are not offset by
unacceptable long-term environmental hazards.
