The EPA has announced it will begin regulating the use of nanosilver as a germ-fighting agent. This decision is long overdue and I really hope it is expanded to the entirety of the burgeoning nanotechnology industry.
Nanoproducts take materials like gold and silver and manufacture them at the nanometer level. When this happens, previously inert materials acquire unusual properties. In the case of silver, nanosilver has germ-fighting qualities.
The problem is that nobody really knows how these nanomaterials will interact with the environment or with human health. Nanosilver’s use has exploded in everything from band-aids to shoe liners. These materials eventually make their way back into the environment, and insufficient research exists to show what happens next.
Nanotechnology is an extremely important emerging industry that will probably revolutionize many aspects of modern life. But we can’t make the same mistakes of the industrial revolution, where we dumped material into the air, ground and water without giving thought to the long-term consequences. While I think that over-regulation of industry is a bad idea, evidence abundantly shows that market forces alone do not protect the environment, and we have a duty to do so through regulation instead.
The FDA plans to require that the use of nanosilver as a germ-fighting agent be accompanied by research that demonstrates no deleterious effect on the environment. This is a good solid step forward and will hopefully serve as precedent for other regulatory agencies to take a good hard look at the pervasiveness of nanomaterials in everything from suntan lotion to clothing.
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