Nanotech Gone Awry?

westcoaster004 writes "Chemical and Engineering News is reporting what appears to be 'the first recall of a nanotechnology-based product' due to health risks associated with it. The recall of 'Magic Nano' spray, which is for use on glass and ceramic surfaces to make them repel dirt and water, comes after at least 77 people in Germany contacted regional poison control centers after experiencing illness after using the product. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has also issued a warning." Relatedly dolphin558 writes "There is an interesting story in the Washington Post on the unknown dangers facing employees of nanotechnology firms. The jury is still out on whether traditional HAZMAT safeguards are suitable when handling nanomaterials, many of which can be harmful. Research into potential workplace hazards is beginning to ramp up as the industry and government become more aware of this issue."

Comments

Nanotech?

[shadowcode]

What I wonder is, how much of this product is actually related to nanotech? Isn't it just some fancy spray with 'nano' slapped on the label?

Re:Nanotech?

[aussie_a]

I always think of nanotechnology as dealing with self-replicating machines that are at the atomic scale. But I suppose any "spray" can technically be classed as nanotechnology (if you define it as "technology at the atomic scale").

Aaah, definition games. Fun.

Re:Nanotech?

[ozmanjusri]

Isn't it just some fancy spray with 'nano' slapped on the label?

It's claimed to have nano-sized particles of silica and silicone suspended in ethanol and water. Silicone is known to be a mild dermal irritant, so I'd guess the illness is a result of silicone inhalation.

The nanotech aspect may be relevant in that the small particle size would allow the spray to bypass the body's protection mechanisms and directly affect the alveoli. That would be consistent with the symptoms described. It's drawing a long bow to call it a nanotech hazard though.

Re:Nanotech?

[ozmanjusri]

"to bypass the body's protection mechanisms and directly affect " is a pretty common property of nano particles.

Yes, but it is not a function of nano technology. Any respirable particle (one which is small enough to enter the alveoli) will have similar consequences. That includes things like grain dust, silica, asbestos, metal fume from welding - the whole pantheon of existing nano sized, but not nano tech toxins.

Re:Nanotech?

[Knuckles]

Except that the widespread use of "low"-tech nanotech (like the spray in the story) will increase the number of types of those particles tremendously, and will likely come up with new types all the time.

Re:Nanotech bounding forth with no safety concerns

[CRCulver]

I agree that safety isn't being considered here, but I sometimes wonder if it is possible to ensure complete safety regardless of how much effort one puts into it. Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation , an exhaustive exploration of the possibilities and risks of nanotechnology, speculates about a grey goo scenario where the exponential growth of out-of-control nanobots overtakes the world.

"Thus the first replicator assembles a copy in one thousand seconds, the two replicators then build two more in the next thousand seconds, the four build another four, and the eight build another eight. At the end of ten hours, there are not thirty-six new replicators, but over 68 billion. In less than a day, they would weigh a ton; in less than two days, they would outweigh the Earth; in another four hours, they would exceed the mass of the Sun and all the planets combined - if the bottle of chemicals hadn't run dry long before."

I'm all for Man improving his lot and vanquishing the terrible forces of Nature with technological prowess, but possibilities like this make me consider becoming a Luddite.

Will Nano particles become the next asbestos?

[LiquidCoooled]

Allowing nano scale particulates to be released in the home seems like a foolhardy way to save a bit of time.
I like the principle of nano tech, especially in embedded applications (like within a ceramic chip casing) but spraying it around just screams of stupidity.

People should just clean their windows manually, a good cloth can be found here.

Nanotech = negative image

[Zouden]

I wonder how long until the word "nanotech" falls out of favour because it becomes associated with dangerous "science gone too far".

We aren't even nearly at the stage of nanomachines ("grey goop"), yet I imagine the public is beginning to feel that everything with the nano-prefix is dangerous. Soon companies and scientists will start using other words to describe the technology. This is fine with me - I actually think that a lot of "nanotechnology" could be better described with other words (same with AI).

Re:could be very good...

[Anonymous Coward]

One of the problems with the regulation of nano technology here in the UK is that when a product is deamed to be safe no new procedures have to be gone through in order to use the same product on a nano scale

If it's at a completely different scale, manufactured in a different way, and acts in a different way, then it's not the same product, is it?

PS: it's "deemed", not "deamed".

Re:Nanotech bounding forth with no safety concerns

[JaredOfEuropa]

At the end of ten hours, there are not thirty-six new replicators, but over 68 billion.

And then their "food" in the petri dish runs out, and the next morning a scientist takes care of the problem with a spray can of "Nano-b-gone". Don't lose any sleep over it... there are plenty of real dangers of nanotech to worry about, such as the one cited in the main article.

That's why we need space colonisation

[ElMiguel]

I'm serious. Sooner or later man will begin experimenting with technology where there is a real danger of unforeseen cascade effects accidentally destroying all life on Earth. If we're lucky the fatal accident will not happen, but I think the *risk* is unavoidable.

We're not at that technological point yet, but we're only getting closer. At least, we should make sure that if something goes badly humanity will not be completely wiped out.

Re:could be very good...

[sjames]

It's unfortunate that a LOT more thought doesn't go into products that incorporate nanoscale particles. They probably shouldn't be in home use at all at this point. Many perfectly harmless products can become MUCH more harmful in the form of nano-particles. Further, typical masks and respirators aren't much help for particles that small. Certainly the filters used typically in a central heating/air system won't help.

Nano particles have a way of getting much deeper into a person than conventional aerosols. The conventional aerosol might penetrate a bit into the lung and be eliminated more or less harmlessly while the nanoparticles go right into the bloodstream and into all of the tissues including the brain. There are a lot of products that are definatly not non-toxic but may be used almost as if they were simply because no significant amount normally enters your system.

Possible dangers of nanoparticles

[Apa]

I recently heard of research showing that nanoparticles (that is, particle of nanoscale size) can penetrate the blood brain barrier among other things. Aparently they can also enter the body trough the skin and lungs and interact with cells in previously unseen ways etc. That mean great posibilties for new medicines etc of course, but it would also sugest a posibility for serious healt hazards...

http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-8350-f0.cfm
http://www.technologyreview.com/Materials/wtr_15 847,318,p1.html