EPA Needs Overhaul to Manage Nanotechnology Risks

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to take action now to better ensure the safety of the rapidly expanding number of nanomaterials on the market, according to the author of a report titled "EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century."

"A review of existing EPA authorities reveals a large number of weaknesses," writes the report's author J. Clarence Davies, a senior advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and a senior fellow with Resources for the Future. "In particular, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which is the only law potentially capable of providing general oversight for nanotechnology, is extremely deficient in many respects and needs to be amended."

Nanomaterials are products made of ultra-small particles approaching the size of atoms and molecules. Such materials can exhibit radically different physical properties from normal materials of the same composition; for example, nanoparticles of gold behave as a liquid rather than a solid, and nanoparticles of copper become transparent rather than opaque. It's because of these unusual and sometimes unexpected behaviors that many are urging greater regulation of nanotechnology.

Nanomaterials are already being used in more than 450 commercial products, including hair gel, cosmetics, sunscreen, vitamin supplements, kitchen cleaners, tennis rackets, apparel and other materials. Davies cites data that predicts 15 percent of all goods produced globally will involve nanotechnology by 2014.

Nanotechnology has the potential to impact "every major area of human activity," Davies stated in his report. "Carbon nanotubes are around 100 times as strong as steel but weigh only about one-tenth as much. Nano windows that never need washing are on the market now, as are nano batteries and solar panels that are much more efficient than pre-nano ones ... Nano drugs will vastly increase the range and effectiveness of medical interventions, and nano foods will be more nutritious, tastier, and less subject to spoilage."