Nanoscale Silver a Potential Hazard
Nano-silver is showing up in hundreds of consumer products despite the fact that its safety has not been well researched and prior knowledge indicates that caution is the only sane approach.
Nanoparticles are microscopic bits of metal or other substances that are manufactured to measure less than 100 nanometers in length. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. In comparison, a human blood cell is about 8,000 nanometers and the HIV virus is about 130. The small size of nan0-particles make it easy for them to penetrate cells and to impact organisms on a cellular level.
Silver is classified as an environmental hazard by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it is highly toxic to aquatic plants and animals. In fact, is the most toxic metal to aquatic life other than mercury. A 2009 study confirmed prior studies by showing that silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos.
In some cases the EPA has fined companies who put nano-silver in their products while ignoring others. A California computer company selling nano-silver keyboards was fined $200,000 by the EPA while Wal-Mart is allowed to sell t-shirts and socks with nanosilver. Nanosilver is also in some refrigerators, air filters, paints, lotions, baby products and a wide range of other consumer products.
The question isn't if nanosilver will end up in the environment. It already is. There is no practical way to remove the nanosilver once it is in a product and inevitably most nan0silver consumer products will end up in landfills. Given the large number of unlined landfills that leach toxins into the water table, nan0silver will end up in our waterways. So, the real question is - how much will end up in the environment and how much damage will it cause?
For humans, silver is a great anti-biotic with few if any side-effects if used occasionally in small amounts. Continual over-exposure could wreak havoc on the delicate balance of bacteria in the human digestive tract and lead to serious health problems.
Just like with any other product, you may want to consider the ultimate potential consequences of your purchase before you buy products with nanosilver or other nano-particles.
A comprehensive list of products with nan0-particles can be found at http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/
Copyright: arcticle: NewsMuse
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Nano-silver is showing up in hundreds of consumer products despite the fact that its safety has not been well researched and prior knowledge indicates that caution is the only sane approach.
Nanoparticles are microscopic bits of metal or other substances that are manufactured to measure less than 100 nanometers in length. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. In comparison, a human blood cell is about 8,000 nanometers and the HIV virus is about 130. The small size of nan0-particles make it easy for them to penetrate cells and to impact organisms on a cellular level.
Silver is classified as an environmental hazard by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it is highly toxic to aquatic plants and animals. In fact, is the most toxic metal to aquatic life other than mercury. A 2009 study confirmed prior studies by showing that silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos.
Dr. Samuel N. Luom, an EPA advisor and Director of Public Services Research at the John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis says, “The silver that went into wastewaters when millions of people had their photographs developed taught us that small additions of silver to the environment make a big difference. Perhaps more significant, we have no means of detecting nanosilver in the environment once it is released, even if concentrations rise to levels that are toxic to aquatic ecosystems.”
In some cases the EPA has fined companies who put nano-silver in their products while ignoring others. A California computer company selling nano-silver keyboards was fined $200,000 by the EPA while Wal-Mart is allowed to sell t-shirts and socks with nanosilver. Nanosilver is also in some refrigerators, air filters, paints, lotions, baby products and a wide range of other consumer products.
The question isn't if nanosilver will end up in the environment. It already is. There is no practical way to remove the nanosilver once it is in a product and inevitably most nan0silver consumer products will end up in landfills. Given the large number of unlined landfills that leach toxins into the water table, nan0silver will end up in our waterways. So, the real question is - how much will end up in the environment and how much damage will it cause?
For humans, silver is a great anti-biotic with few if any side-effects if used occasionally in small amounts. Continual over-exposure could wreak havoc on the delicate balance of bacteria in the human digestive tract and lead to serious health problems.
Just like with any other product, you may want to consider the ultimate potential consequences of your purchase before you buy products with nanosilver or other nano-particles.
A comprehensive list of products with nan0-particles can be found at http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/
Copyright: arcticle: NewsMuse
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