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Regulating Nanotechnology In Cleansers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-let-it-inside-you dept.

An anonymous reader writes to mention a Washington Post article about new EPA regulations on nanotech in cleaners. Nanoparticles are now used to do everything from waterproofing pants to making faster-burning rocket fuel, but one of the most common new applications is their use in household cleaners. The EPA is handing down new regulations saying that these silver-coated nanoparticles have to be safe for the environment. Their concerns stem from the fact that a large majority of cleansers, eventually, end up in large bodies of water. From the article: "Silver can kill microbes even in bulk form but is more efficient as nanoparticles. Nanosilver also can be easily incorporated into a variety of products, such as food containers and shoe liners. That characteristic has made it the most common type of nanomaterial marketed to consumers, according to a database of about 350 nanoproducts maintained by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Nanosilver has also been added to bandages to speed healing. That use and others in which the particles are applied to the body are regulated not by the EPA but by the Food and Drug Administration, which is currently considering whether it needs new rules for nanoproducts."

6 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Silver keyboards and mice by zcubed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Someone needs to coat keyboards and mice with these nanosilver particles since I have to touch so many at work.

  2. NEW Technology? by SandyBrownBPK · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How about photographic prints? THEY also contain silver "nano-particles!"

  3. Re:Silver is good by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Silver is a very powerful antiseptic.
    I've been using it for quite a while, known as colloidal or ionic silver.
    Cuts heal faster with less scaring.

          Is this your professional recommendation, doctor? Yes, silver is toxic - which is why it's an antiseptic. Beware, however - there is no mechanism for the human body to get rid of excess silver. If you continue to intoxicate yourself you will suffer the consequences. I invite you to look into the potentially fatal medical condition called "Argyria" before you continue to use colloidal silver.

          - A concerned physician

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  4. I feel the same way about macro-particles. by Vellmont · · Score: 2, Insightful


    We need the EPA to OK the use of nanoparticles in cleaning agents, and yet, diesel engines spew out metric tons of organic nanoparticles on a daily basis.

    I'm with ya brother. These bastards at EPA have been doing the same thing for YEARS with macro-particles. Lead is all regulated up the ass.. You can't put it in paint, it's been taken out of gasoline, etc. And yet every winter the city is allowed to just dump sand around the streets!

    I mean, all macro-particles are equal right? We all know that when two things are the same in one way, they're the same in every single other way.

    --
    AccountKiller
  5. Up with bacteria! by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Overuse of cleaners and germicidals may actually be a problem, and not in the way that you'd think. The more pathogens we kill, the less we're exposed to on a regular basis. And our immune system needs regular exposure to bugs to stay "in shape" and also to develop antibodies that may be useful against stronger bugs. Unless you're HIV+ or otherwise immunocompromised, you don't need all surfaces in your home or even in your kitchen to be perfectly germ-free.

    -b.

  6. Since when... by Thumper_SVX · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Since when did we start calling "grit", "nanoparticles"? This is just silver dust being put in cleansers... so the particles are small? So what? Is this the latest "cool fad"?

    I suppose my dog no longer leaves puppy bombs in the back yard... they're just massive piles of millions of "nanopoop".