Toxicology of the Tiny - Miller-McCune

(By James Bradham). Already incorporated into consumer products ranging from baseball bats and clothing to sunscreens and toothpaste, engineered nanoparticles — ENPs — hold great promise in such areas as energy, pollution remediation, medicine and materials science. The nanotechnology industry is projected to be worth $1 trillion by 2015.

It is all made possible by the peculiar properties of nanoparticles, which are defined as having at least one dimension measuring 100 nanometers or less (a nanometer being one-billionth of a meter, or about one one-hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair).

EPA proposes new rules for Certain Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes - Bureau of National Affairs Daily Environment Report, United States

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a significant new use rule (SNUR) for certain multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCTs) for which it has already received a premanufacture notice. Manufacturers and importers of MWCTs will now have to notify the EPA if they plan to use the substance differently than outlined in their premanufacture submission.

Is It "Nano" Cream? Or Isn't It? - New Haven Independent, New Hampshire

By Alex Halperin. The luxury makeup company Chantecaille hawks1.7 ounce pots of high-tech sounding “Nano Gold Energizing Cream” for $420. Other cosmetics companies avoid references to nanotechnology like a dead rat on the samples counter.

For cosmetics companies these days, nanotechnology can be a selling point or a radioactive taboo. But they’re at liberty to say as much or as little as they want about their use of this science. If one U.S. senator has his way, regulators will be better equipped to determine whether that facial cream, sunscreen or foundation contains “nanoparticles” – and whether it presents a hazard to the public.

Engineers explore environmental concerns of nanotechnology - Newswise, Virginia Tech

As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, a separate but equally compelling challenge exists.

History has shown that previous industrial revolutions, such as those involving asbestos and chloroflurocarbons, have had some serious environmental impacts. Might nanotechnology also pose a risk?

SAFENANO Review of key developments in 2009 in nanotechnology safety research - Nanowerk News

In its first feature article of 2010, SAFENANO provides a summary of key nanoEHS developments from 2009, and considers how these are likely to shape 2010 in nano.

Senators Propose Bill to Improve Nano Safety - Meridian Institute

United States Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) last week introduced legislation designed to address the potential health and safety risks of products containing nanotechnology materials.

Controversy surrounds nanotech food supply experiments - Examiner.com, Milwaukee

Scientists throughout the world are claiming that Nanotechnology will take the earth's food industries by storm, thereby changing the way food is produced for human or animal consumption. While scientists claim the benefits of Nanofoods -- foods produced using nanotechnology -- are unmatched by any other technology, there are concerns regarding what Americans will routinely put into their bodies for nourishment.

Just Released: Review of Health and Environmental Safety of Engineered Nanoparticles by International Research Team - Europe

This report presents a comprehensive and critical scientific review of the health and environmnental safety of four classes of nanomaterials: fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNT), metals and metal oxides.

Loud Start Ends France's Nanotech Debates - Science Insider

France's Special Commission for the Public Debate on Nanotechnology is organizing a 4-month discussion in 17 cities to inform the public about advances and dilemmas in nanotechnology and to give citizens a chance to express their opinion. But environmentalists dispute the legitimacy of the discussions, which they say are one-sided and a whitewash, and have decided to disrupt them wherever they can.

Safety ignored in nanotech rush, warns experts - SciDev Net, New Delhi

Developing countries have embarked on a nanotechnology spree in the absence of health and safety guidelines, experts have cautioned.

Nano Risks: A Big Need for a Little Testing - Scientific American

The EPA must act swiftly to evaluate the possible health risks of nanotechnology.