FDA Rejects Nanotechnology Safeguards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Nick Berning, Friends of the Earth-U.S., 202-222-0735, [email protected]

Task Force’s Proposals Fail to Respond to Concerns Raised About Nanoparticles

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Friends of the Earth today added its voice to the disapproval that met a recent report by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Nanotechnology Task Force. The FDA maintained in its report that, despite the ‘special properties’ of nanomaterials, their use does not need to be regulated.

“The FDA’s proposals ignore serious concerns about the hazards nanoparticles may pose to human health. The public is exposed to potentially hazardous nanoparticles from hundreds of products without even realizing it,” said Ian Illuminato, Health and Environment Campaigner at Friends of the Earth-U.S.

Studies have raised doubts about the safety of nanoparticles, suggesting that their tiny size can make their components more toxic, that they may produce unpredictable immune responses, and that some can penetrate major organs including the brain.

The FDA’s new recommendations would not require the labeling of products containing nanoparticles. Nor would they establish any program for systematically assessing the dangers of nanoparticles.

Friends of the Earth advised such measures last May when, along with the International Center for Technology Assessment and six other organizations, it filed a petition calling on the FDA to take action to protect consumers, workers, and the environment from the potential risks posed by nanotechnology.

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