Nanotechnology in Everyday Products
Should Consumers Be Wary of Nanoparticles in Household Products?
Feb 12, 2009 Indrani Nadarajah
One thing is for sure, nanotechnology, or the science of working with materials on a very small scale, is going to yield more discoveries and more applications for the public. The question is: are consumers going to accept these changes?
The particles concerned are microscopic: a nanometre is one-billionth of a metre, and nanotechnology typically works with particles between one to 100 nanometres.
Canadians are Positive about Nanotechnology
While Canadian consumers are generally positive about the technology (with more than half surveyed giving it the thumbs-up), they expressed some reservation about consuming nanoparticles (via food), or placing it directly on their skin. "Those are the areas that are going to be the most sensitive," says researcher Dr Elizabeth Nielsen, who authored a report on nanotechnology for the Consumers Council of Canada last year.
"In the area of cosmetics, there's very little information available for the consumer to judge the product appropriately, and there are far too many unknowns," Dr Nielsen said.
A comprehensive US report on nanotechnology in cosmetics, entitled "Beneath the skin: hidden liabilities, market risk and drivers of change in the cosmetics and personal care industries," echoed this same theme. Cosmetic companies are not legally required to list all the ingredients used. It also noted that in 2006, cosmetics giant L'Oreal ranked as the sixth most prominent nanotechnology patent holder in the US. L'Oreal already uses polymer nanocapsules to deliver active ingredients like retinol or Vitamin A into deeper layers of the skin.
Nanotechnology in FoodIn the area of food preservation for example, sensors incorporating nanoparticles could be placed in packaged food to monitor for contamination, so that stores and consumers would be alerted before the food is consumed. Silver nanomaterials are also being added to food packaging, refrigerators and containers to give them anti-bacterial characteristics and to increase the shelf-life of the products.
The literature Dr Nielsen has reviewed so far suggests that any adverse impact on human health will be caused by the tiny scale of nanomaterials, and their ability to penetrate the body by various means. While it is unlikely that nanomaterials encased in products intended for consumers like sports equipment, computers, scratch-resistant glass and anti-wrinkle clothes, will actually harm the public, the main danger is that posed by nanomaterials in a free form like cosmetics, personal care products or cleaning products.
There is also the impact on the environment to consider: the release of nanomaterials into our surroundings could potentially occur during the manufacture and production of nano-enhanced products, Dr Nielsen said.
Consumers Council Recommendations
In her report, Dr Nielsen and the Consumers Council have come up with some recommendations:
- Nanomaterials must be classified and treated as new substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
- Industry Canada should be the lead government agency to develop a national strategy on nanotechnology, to coordinate research and to develop regulations.
- Consumer products must be labelled if they contain nanoparticles.
- Policies must be developed to prevent nanotechnologies from adversely affecting human health or the environment.
- Consumers must be kept informed about nanotechnology advances and engaged in the development of regulations.
Nanotechnology in household products
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