For many years, we’ve heard about the wonders of nanotechnology and how it will change our lives for the better. As commercial technology gets smaller (computers, cell phones), so does the focus of science in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the field of science that looks into the development of different things on a molecular and atomic level. It specifically studies the development of devices or materials that are 100 nanometers or smaller. This field has already brought nanotech materials into the public sphere by using them in computer chips, clothing, building materials, and sunscreen, as well as other products. According to Lux Research, a group that provides advice on emerging technology, nanotechnology accounted for $88 billion in manufactured goods in 2007. They estimate that, by 2014, $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods, nearly 15 percent of the total global output, will contain some level of nanotechnology.
However, the question that remains is what are the ramifications of using nanotechnology and its effects, not only on us, but on the environment? And if those implications are negative and injurious, what recourse is there?
Silver Nanoparticles
One of the best examples of this involves socks. By utilizing nanotech, scientists were able to develop silver nanotech particles as a way to reduce foot odor. This seems like a good idea on the surface. However, what happens when those silver nanoparticles are inevitable washed out of the socks and into the water? Though these silver particles are extremely small, silver is known to hamper the development of bacteria (good in fighting foot odor), which may then destroy the way bacteria works on organic material in places like waste water treatment plants and farms (bad for the environment and everyone else). Because of this concern, the nonprofit International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last May, challenging the EPA’s regulation of nanoparticle silver. This is because the EPA does not think of nanoparticles as unique from their larger counterparts. While silver is labeled as a pesticide in its larger form due to studies showing the adverse affects on marine life, the argument seems to be that nanoparticles are so small as to be a negligible threat. ICTA wants the EPA to regulate the material as a “unique pesticide” that could potentially harm the environment in a serious way.
Unknowns
Because nanotechnology is still a developing technology, one with extremely promising revolutions for all aspects of life, there is no way to tell exactly what the outcome will be. There are already regulations for different chemicals, but there is no real protection yet for the downside of nanotechnology. Materials in the nanotech realm currently fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but, according to former EPA general counsel Roger Mertella, there is some question on how TSCA should be applied. The EPA has already decided that there should not be a subcategory for nanomaterials. Size does not apply here. Martella and others are concerned due to the fact that some properties are changed when things are made smaller. The way these nanoparticles act and react may affect things like color, conducting electricity, and their chemical composition.
Future Liabilities
Beyond the worries about nanomaterials on the loose in the environment, there is some thought that nanotechnology will become the center for future litigation in realms like product liability and insurance issues. Once nanotechnology makes its way from cancer research to the marketplace, David Wallace, an attorney with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, believes liability cases will “pick up dramatically.” However, Wallace states, “The shape of litigation in nanotechnologies remains to be seen in many ways.” He believes the health effects are far in the future and that litigation may not appear until next-generation devices and nanopharmaceuticals begin their use. Wallace also said that insurance companies have been following nanotechnological movements, both scientifically and politically, and are trying to come up with some kind of strategy that balances the risks and the uniqueness of potential breakthroughs. Until then, agencies are still in the study phase. Regulation of nanotech materials may have to wait until it is determined if they react in the same way as their larger counterparts.
