Nanoparticles Could Pose Danger to Human Health: Scientists

They can make fabric resistant to stains, improve the taste of food and help drug research, but nanoparticles could also pose a danger to human health, experts warned Wednesday.

Susanne Stark, of the Consumer Information Association, told a seminar in the Austrian city of Salzburg that companies should be forced to indicate on labels whether a product contains the tiny particles.

Analysis Says Nanoparticles may Have Negative Effects on Environment and Human Health
A new analysis has indicated that the same properties of nanoparticles that make them so appealing to manufacturers may also have negative effects on the environment and human health.

"There are more questions than answers on the effects of nanoparticles" on human health, the chemist said.

Cosmetic and food products should indicate whether their products contain nanoparticles by 2012, she said.

Nanoparticles, measuring no more than 100 nanometres (0.00001 centimetre), have helped to revolutionize how everyday products are made.

Silver Nanoparticles may Be Destroying Beneficial Bacteria
A University of Missouri researcher has found that silver nanoparticles may be destroying beneficial bacteria .

The particles are used to make stain-resistant paint or creamy cosmetic and food products. They can also change colour to indicate whether a product has expired.

But their risk to humans remains largely unknown.

Inhaling Nanoparticles Could Cause Lung Damage
A study on seven Chinese factory workers developing severe lung damage from inhaling nanoparticles has triggered off debate over the environmental-health effects of nanotechnology.

Nanoparticles can enter the body through the mouth and nose, the digestive system or the skin, and spread inside the body through blood vessels, said Hans Peter Hutter, a doctor specialized in environmental hygiene in Vienna.

"These tiny particles could without a doubt go all the way to the placenta," he said. But he warned that little was known about their behavior inside human tissue.

Nanotechnology Has Adverse Health And Environmental Effects
A study on carbon nanoparticles, barely 1/5,000th the width of a human hair, is scheduled for the Aug. 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal.

Source-AFP
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