Nanotechnology Project

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Environment and Green Nano

The GreenNano series aims to advance development of clean technologies using nanotechnology, to minimize potential environmental and human health risks associated with the manufacture and use of nanotechnology products, and to encourage replacement of existing products with new nano products that are more environmentally friendly throughout their lifecycle.

  • publications/archive September 9, 2008 PEN 15 - Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project.
  • news/archive September 9, 2008 Nanoscale Silver: No Silver Lining? Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report by Dr. Samuel Luoma. Existing information about the impact of silver on the environment offers a starting point for some assessments of nanosilver, the report argues.
  • news/archive September 8, 2008 Nanotechnology and the FDA: Size Matters! In July 2007 the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued its Nanotechnology Task Force Report. This report acknowledged that nanoscale materials potentially could be used in most product types regulated by the agency and that those materials present challenges complicated by the fact that properties relevant to product safety and effectiveness may change as size varies within the nanoscale.
  • news/archive July 28, 2008 Local Officials Move Toward Monitoring Nanotechnologies State and local officials have taken steps to begin monitoring the manufacture and storage of nanomaterials, a major step for a cutting-edge technology that has yet to be regulated by the federal government. Today, the Cambridge, MA Public Health Department recommended that the city take several steps to gain a better understanding of the nature and extent of local nanotechnology-related activities.
  • publications/archive July 23, 2008 PEN 13 - Nanotechnology Oversight Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • events/archive July 23, 2008 Nanotechnology and Oversight: An Agenda for the New Administration Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • news/archive July 23, 2008 Nanotech: A Regulatory Blueprint for the Next Administration Nanotechnology will significantly change virtually every facet of the way we live. The next president has the opportunity to shape these changes and to ensure that nanotechnology’s benefits will be maximized and its risks identified and controlled. A new report by former EPA official J. Clarence (Terry) Davies lays out a clear roadmap for the next presidential administration and describes the immediate and longer term steps necessary to deal with the current shortcomings of nanotechnology oversight. video
  • events/archive June 5, 2008 *POSTPONED - Small is Beautiful: A European View of Nanotech Cosmetics and Safety BusinessWeek magazine claims the $60 billion international beauty products industry is “making a big bet on nanotech.” Today, nearly a hundred cosmetics are in the Project’s online inventory of consumer products. How does a company like Paris-based cosmetics leader L’Oreal—which ranks No. 6 among nanotechnology patent holders in the U.S.— apply “The Precautionary Principle” to nanotechnology cosmetic products?
  • news/archive May 28, 2008 Tuning in to Carbon Nanotube Safety For several days last week, newspapers across the country and around the world reported on a new research study recently published in Nature Nanotechnology with headlines like “Nanotechnology cancer risk found” and “Nanotubes as deadly as asbestos.” This week National Public Radio’s “Science Friday” and “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” interviewed the Project’s chief science advisor Dr. Andrew Maynard, enabling listeners to get behind the headlines and pose questions directly to one of the study’s authors. audio
  • news/archive May 19, 2008 Carbon Nanotubes That Look Like Asbestos, Behave Like Asbestos A major study published today in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. The study used established methods to see if specific types of nanotubes have the potential to cause mesothelioma — a cancer of the lung lining that can take 30-40 years to appear following exposure. video audio
  • news/archive May 14, 2008 Public Trust Is The ‘Dark Horse’ In Nanotechnology’s Future Without an improved governance structure, the benefits of nanotechnology may never be realized because the public will not trust the cutting-edge technology. As part of major nanotechnology legislation, federal officials must bring together the best minds in the nation to develop a governance structure that will work with nanotechnology to ensure potential risks are minimized and that consumer confidence is maximized, said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, at an April 24 Senate science and technology subcommittee hearing. video
  • events/archive May 1, 2008 International Council on Nanotechnology Launches Global Research Needs Assessment Last year, more than 70 experts from 13 countries - in academia, industry, governments and non-governmental agencies - accepted that challenge. In an unprecedented international collaboration, the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) convened two workshops aimed at defining a set of research needs for assessing potential nanotechnology impacts.
  • publications/archive April 24, 2008 Congressional Testimony - National Nanotechnology Initiative: Charting the Course for Reauthorization New nanotechnology consumer products are coming on the market at the rate of three to four per week, a finding based on the latest update to the nanotechnology consumer product inventory. Today, in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, PEN Project Director David Rejeski cited Ace Silver Plus—another of the nine nano toothpastes in the inventory—as an example of the upsurge in nanotechnology consumer products in stores. The hearing marks the start of U.S. Senate debate on the future direction of the annual $1.5 billion federal investment in nanotechnology research and development .
  • events/archive April 2, 2008 New Nanotechnology Television Series Does “Sweat the Small Stuff” The Project and National Science Foundation will host the Washington, DC, premiere event for the television series “Nanotechnology: The Power of Small”. The series’ three programs explore critical questions about nanotechnology’s potential impact on privacy, the environment and human health and will include remarks by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a co-chair of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus.
  • publications/archive February 26, 2008 Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials This research brief examines whether the legal authorities that establish the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the Emergency Planning and Community-Right to-Know Act (EPCRA) could be applied to nanomaterials. Although several organizations have published analyses of whether specific environmental laws could be used to regulate nanomaterials, none of these reviews has examined EPCRA or TRI in any detail.