EPA starts to look at environment impact of nanomaterials

12 November 2004 21:56  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--The US federal government said Friday it has awarded $4m (Euro3.1m) in research grants to a dozen universities for studies on the environmental impact of nanomaterials.

 

In announcing the grants today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that nanomaterials - defined as man-made particles that are measured in billionths of a meter, nanometers - are already being used in a wide range of products and applications, such as sunscreens, composites, medical devices and as chemical catalysts.

 

These materials, said EPA, comprise “a promising new field that may lead to great advances in environmental protection” and other areas.  However, the agency added, “as new nanomaterials are manufactured, there is the potential of human and environmental exposure from waste streams or other pathways” into the general environment.

 

“Currently there is very limited scientific information of the effects of nanomaterials on human health and the environment,” EPA said.  The 12 new research grants are meant to start filling in some of the knowledge gaps.

 

EPA said six of the grants awarded will seek to determine whether manufactured nanomaterials could have any negative health effects or environmental impact.  The other six grants will explore the transport and ultimate fate of nanomaterials in the environment.

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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