Panel Urges Study of Nanomaterial Risks

"Nanoparticles are really tiny manufactured objects, no bigger than a clump of atoms.  They are being engineered into materials with unique electrical, chemical and optical properties. They are used in a wide array of products from cosmetics and food additives to solar cells and medical devices.


But concerns are growing that almost nothing is known about the risks these materials might pose to human health or the environment. Now, a federal science panel is calling for a systematic review of the safety of nanotechnology. 


The nano market is booming. In 2009 developers generated $1 billion from the sale of nanomaterials. The global  market for products that rely on these materials is expected to grow to $3 trillion by 2015. 


Yet without a coordinated research plan to assess, manage and avoid risks to human health and the environment, the future of safe and sustainable nanotechnology is uncertain. That’s the conclusion of a new report by the National Research Council, the research arm of the National Academy of Sciences. 


'What we think we need and what we speak to in this report is how would we develop ways to predict what materials might be hazardous?' says Jonathan Samet, who heads the Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California and chaired the expert panel that wrote the report. 


For example, little is known about the health effects of nanomaterials being absorbed, inhaled or ingested, or what happens when nanomaterials escape into the environment.  Samet says steps must be taken in the short-term to answer these questions, especially as new and more complex nanomaterials are engineered.  --------------- "


(My note:  Are you ready for nanobots in your bloodstream?  What if they were delivering a potent cancer drug right to and into your cancer cells?  Cancer drug delivery by nanotechnology is pretty advanced already.  There will be many more applications.)


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/Panel-Urges-Study-of-Nanomaterial-Risks-138212949.html


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