Getting Nanotechnology Right the First Time: Government and Industry Should Be Working to Identify and Manage Possible Health and Environmental Risks Before New Products Are Widely Used‪.‬

Nanotechnology--the design and manipulation of materials at the molecular and atomic scale--has great potential to deliver environmental as well as other benefits. The novel properties that emerge as materials reach the nanoscale (changes in surface chemistry, reactivity, electrical conductivity, and other properties) open the door to innovations in cleaner energy production, energy efficiency, water treatment, environmental remediation, and "lightweighting" of materials, among other applications, that provide direct environmental improvements. At the same time, these novel properties may pose new risks to workers, consumers, the public, and the environment. The few data now available give cause for concern: Some nanomaterials appear to have the potential to damage skin, brain, and lung tissue, to be mobile or persistent in the environment, or to kill microorganisms (potentially including ones that constitute the base of the food web). This trickle of data only highlights how little is known about the environmental and health effects of engineered nanomaterials. (A bibliography of references and abstracts of risk-related research studies on nanomaterials is available at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/nano.)