Assessing the risk of nanoparticles

From invisible specks of silver embedded in carpet and socks to carbon nanotubes used in construction of golf clubs and tennis rackets, nanoparticles in manufacturing are popping up everywhere.

Despite their commonplace use, little is known about the effects these tiny particles might have on the environment, and that has the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration concerned. The launch of Carolina’s Center for Nanoenvironmental Research and Risk Assessment couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Some companies use a lot of nano-sized substances for their products and also produce lots of nanoscale waste that will end up in landfills or wastewater streams,” said Tommy Chandler, interim dean of the Arnold School of Public Health. “It is much more ethical and economically feasible to assess the potential risk for harm to health and the environment by nanomaterials and prevent it, than to try to correct any harm after it has occurred.”

The Center for Nanoenvironmental Research and Risk Assessment is endowed with $3 million by the state’s Centers of Economic Excellence program. Some of the matching funds for the center will come from Michael Bolick, president and CEO of Selah Technologies, an Upstate firm that manufactures nanomaterials used in medical diagnostics.

“The global cost to industry for clean-up of chemicals that were originally thought to be harmless and benign, such as PCBs, has now approached the trillion dollar mark,” Chandler said. “The cluster of faculty in our new Center for Nanoenvironmental Risk Assessment will serve as a valuable information and consultation resource to industry as it produces new nanomaterials almost every day.”