May. 12 – EU looks at the safety of nanomaterials in cosmetic products

From Nanowerk.com:

The fact is, as a recent report by the European Commission’s Health and Consumer Protectorate states, that at present there is inadequate information on hazard identification, exposure assessment, uptake, the role of physico-chemical parameters of nanoparticles determining absorption and transport across membranes in the gut and lungs, the role of physico-chemical parameters of nanoparticles in systemic circulation determining biokinetics and accumulation in secondary target organs, possible health effects, and translocation of nanoparticles via the placenta to the foetus.

That’s quite a long list of things we don’t know about the fate of nanoparticles introduced into our bodies. The EU report concludes that conventional risk assessment methodologies may be adequate for products that contain soluble and/or biodegradable nanoparticles but not for insoluble and/or biopersistent nanoparticles.

Click on the above link for the full story. A PDF of the EU’s report is available at the following link: The Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products.