[E-rundbrief] Info 381 - ETCGroup: Nanotechnology Moratorium.
Matthias Reichl
info at begegnungszentrum.at
Sa Apr 8 12:42:06 CEST 2006
E-Rundbrief - Info 381: ETCGroup (Canada): Nanotechnological Product
Recall Underscores Need for Nanotech Moratorium: Is the Magic Gone?
Press Release, 7.4.2006
Bad Ischl, 8.4.2006
Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
www.begegnungszentrum.at
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Nanotech Product Recall Underscores Need for Nanotech Moratorium: Is
the Magic Gone?
News Release
ETC Group
April 7, 2006
ETC Group today renewed its 2003 call for a global moratorium on
nanotech lab research and a recall of consumer products containing
engineered nanoparticles. There is particular urgency for those
products that are ingested, applied to the body or released in the
environment. The need for action is underscored following the
decision by German authorities to recall a nanotech bathroom cleaner,
"Magic Nano" - purportedly a product of nanotechnology. At least 77
people reported respiratory problems in late March after using the
product. Six people were hospitalized but later released when their
respiratory distress faded.(1) The company marketing "Magic Nano" is
Kleinmann GmbH, a German subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works (a US
Fortune 200 corporation with 650 subsidiaries in 45 countries and
49,000 employees). Kleinmann sells "Magic Nano" in a spray pump and
as an aerosol spray. The recall only applies to the aerosol spray.(2)
There is no information available regarding the nano chemical
compound used, nor whether the problem lies with the nanoparticles or
with the interaction between the particles and the conventional
aerosol propellant.
The nanotechnology industry responded swiftly by pointing out that
the recalled product may not even contain nanoparticles; the company
could be simply taking advantage of the marketing cachet of high-tech
"nano." Michael Holman, an analyst at Lux Research in New York, told
the Washington Post that the nanotech industry is working closely
with government regulators to ensure product safety.
"They may be working closely, but they're not working swiftly - or in
the interests of public safety," says Pat Mooney, Executive Director
of ETC Group, a Canadian-based civil society organization monitoring
nanotechnology. "We don't really know if nanotechnology is to blame
for the nanotech product recall. The important point is that no
government anywhere regulates nano-scale materials if the same
chemical substance has been vetted at the macro-scale. Determining
health and safety is further complicated because there are no
labeling requirements or even agreed-upon nanotech definitions or
methods of measuring nanoparticles," says Mooney.
Nanoparticles are generally understood to be particles below 100 nm
in size - about 1/ 80,000 of a human hair - that take advantage of
the quantum effects (property changes that occur at the nano-scale).
In general, nanoparticles of 70 nm can enter the lungs while a 50 nm
particle can enter cells and a 30 nm particle can pass through the
blood/brain barrier. Not only can such tiny particles go undetected
by the body's immune system, they also exhibit properties not found
at the macro-scale. For example, aluminum oxide - used in dentistry
because of its inertness - can spontaneously explode at the nano-
scale and is being tested as a potential rocket fuel.
"It's the unpredictable property changes that make 'nano' new and
different. Given the complete absence of regulations to address those
changes, we've been calling for a moratorium on the introduction of
products like this since 2003," adds Hope Shand in ETC Group's North
Carolina office. "There are scores of products out there whose nano-
scale ingredients are escaping regulatory review and they include
anti-wrinkle creams, sunscreens, chocolate diet shakes, tooth powder,
pesticides, cooking oil, vitamin supplements and more."(3) In June
2004 the UK's Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering
recommended "that ingredients in the form of nanoparticles undergo a
full safety assessment by the relevant scientific advisory body
before they are permitted for use in products."(4)
ETC's moratorium call encompasses nanotech laboratory research. "It
is unethical to have workers conducting research or handling
nanoparticles in the absence of agreed-upon safety standards and
regulatory oversight," says Shand.
To date, the scientific community and governments have not yet
established "best practices" for this research. Scientists and
regulators must quickly establish safety standards and a mechanism
for monitoring and updating the standards as new information comes forward.
For more information on ETC Group's call for a moratorium, see: Size
Matters! The Case for a Global Moratorium: http://www.etcgroup.org/
article.asp?newsid=392
For further information, please contact:
Pat Mooney, ETC Group
etc at etcgroup.org +1 613 241-2267
Jim Thomas, ETC Group
jim at etcgroup.org +1 613 241-2267
Hope Shand or Kathy Jo Wetter, ETC Group
hope at etcgroup.org +1 919 960-5223
kjo at etcgroup.org +1 919 960-5223
Silvia Ribeiro
silvia at etcgroup.org + 52 5555 6326 64
www.etcgroup.org
1) Rick Weiss, "Nanotech Product Recalled in Germany," Washington
Post, April 5, 2006.
2) http://www.kleinmann.net/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=115
3) See the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory compiled by the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars:
www.nanotechproject.org/index.php?id=44
4) Royal Society and Royal Academy, Nanoscience and nanotechnologies:
opportunities and uncertainties, July 2004, p. 85. On the Internet:
http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm
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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, A-4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at
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