An industry group, the Silver Nanotechnology Working Group, said that there has been a long history of safe, regulated use of ionic silver, which “suggests that the EPA is adequately managing the risks of silver nanoparticles.”
Ionic silver has been used over the last six decades for a variety of anti-microbial uses, including algaecides, water filters and disinfectants approved by the EPA. The industry group says there is no difference between it and the newer nanosilver – other than the new name – so there are “no significant new risks.”
But Todd Kuiken, a research associate at the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, said that unlike ionic silver, the particles used in consumer products are “intentionally engineered at the nanoscale for its properties” and that they may react differently with whatever they come in contact with. “There are a few studies out there that show that nanosilver reacts differently than conventional ionic or colloidal silver,” he said.
Dale Kemery, an EPA spokesman, said that the field of nanotechnology is “relatively new and the scientific information on the potential environmental and human health risks is limited.”
As a result, he said the EPA is consulting with a panel of scientists to figure out how to assess the potential risks. In September, the agency announced a research strategy to identify what happens to nanomaterials used in products such as sunscreens, paints, automobiles and electronics and how to avoid potential health or ecological problems.
Eric Hoek, a UCLA professor of environmental engineering and a member of the University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, said the prevailing wisdom is that silver isn’t toxic to humans. But he added that there hasn’t been much human exposure to silver nanoparticles until recent years, when use of them has increased. They are now used in 259 products on the market today, according to the Project for Emerging Nanotechnologies.
“These materials have tremendous potential, but we need to proceed with cautious optimism,” Hoek said. “We need people to be skeptics, but not to be unjustly fearful and inciting fear unnecessarily.”
Mark Wiesner, director of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology at Duke University, is researching the effects that nanomaterials have on ecosystems rather than individual animals. His center is constructing 30 different aquatic mesocosms – experimental, miniature ecosystems – where small amounts of nanoparticles will be released.
“We’re looking at things that you wouldn’t be able to predict if you look from a molecular to organization level,” Wiesner said. “For example, if you take DDT and you predict its effects from organism to organism, you never would have guessed it would bioaccumulate. There are ecosystem-level effects that only become apparent when you look at the compete system.”
Hoek explained that silver particles are dynamic in the environment so they “are going to take different forms, react and form new particles.”
“To be able to say conclusively that they are good or bad is wrong from the beginning,” he said.
There are still many questions that need to be answered about toxicity of silver nanoparticles, said Kuiken at the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.
“The products are already out there, but we’re still waiting to see if they are really safe,” he said.
This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.
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5 Comments
Add CommentEvolution will take care of this, but we may not like the results.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you for scientifically verifying the effectiveness of colloidal silver "tiny particles of silver - potent anti-microbial agents that can kill bacteria on contact". It is nice to see a verification of Alternative Medicine in the writings of Scientific American. Now if we can get the FDA and AMA to recognize it we may finally be able to rid ourselves of "super bugs" that develop resistance to Big Pharma's anti-biotics. Sure it is not as profitable but we will be a lot healthier for it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisColloidal silver does not harm the helpful micro flora of the gut and no microbe can develop a resistance to it. Anti-biotics are indiscriminant killers that kill the good and the bad and the ugly allowing harmful yeast and fungi to overtake the body (cancer). The toxins in the feces and other offal of yeast and fungi cause a host of symptoms that mimic many diseases causing people to burden the health care system looking for a cure. They take up the doctor's time and they spend a lot of money on Drugs that do not cure the problem but only make it worse. Of course, Big Pharma loves this and they help perpetuate it.
Nano particles of silver and many other minerals have always been a part of the make-up of sea water. They are called trace elements and we need them to maintain healthy bodies. Trace elements are what are lacking in our food supply as chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides deplete the soil of the elements we need for health. A lot of the increase in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, obesity and a host of other "modern illnesses" have their roots (literally) in depleted trace elements in the soil. Farmers used to grind stones to spread on their fields to maintain healthy levels of trace elements in their soils. We need to restore our soil if we ever hope to restore health in our people. This alone would do a lot more for healthcare in America than any bill Congress could conjure up.
I agree. A lot of the nano technology as well as genetic manipulation (Monsanto et al) that is going on is very unhealthy to all of life on this planet. Cross breeding plants to create a more productive and healthier plant is one thing; genetically manipulating the makeup of a plant is another. Our bodies evolved along with other life forms on this planet in a symbiosis and introducing strange nanobots and gmo's into the equation throws the whole system out of balance. And that, my friend, is a recipe for disaster.
I love reading Scientific Word Salad like the above alternative medicine diatribe. It's like a big verbal burp. Try thinking about it as you read it, and you'll realize it's just scary BS to make you buy the latest fad medicine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWow, this is great information. I strongly believe that as a pet owner, you should be aware of issues that could be potentially harmful for your pet. Dog owners should know about the parvovirus (http://earlydetectpet.net), and fish owners should know about nanosilver.
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSilver is one of the most toxic heavy metals. The EPA has no know toxic listing for silver! Going the give the Earth a citation for making colloidal silver? its all around us in nature! If I put drops of bleach in a fish take till they die going to stop making bleach?