Focus on nanomaterials

The Commission for Environmental Pollution has called for more safety testing and tighter regulation on nanomaterials reports the Financial Times. Although there is no evidence of harm to either health or the environment it warns, "The pace at which new nanomaterials are being developed and marketed is beyond the capacity of existing testing regulatory arrangements to control the potential environmental impacts adequately." These sentiments are echoed by the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering who have both called for more research into the harmful effects of nanomaterials.

The commission chairman has said that the widely used nanomaterials, nanosilver, carbon-60 and carbon nanofibres are of particular concern.

Read the Financial Time article in full.