EPA and Consumer Product Safety Commission to Study Health Impacts of Nanomaterials
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are collaborating in a worldwide research effort to assess any potential impacts of nanomaterials on people’s health and the environment. Nanomaterials appear in many household products ranging from clothing to building materials. One ongoing study evaluates the potential human and environmental effects from exposure to copper nanomaterials, an ingredient in wood-treatment products.
The emerging field of nanotechnology has led to substantial advances in energy, medicine, electronics and clean technologies. The field relies on using materials at the nanoscale level; these nanomaterials are made up of very small particles, which are about 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.