WHILE most nanotechnology poses no new risk to human health or the environment, loose nanoparticles that can get into lungs or onto skin should be regulated. That is the conclusion of a report issued by the UK’s Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering on 29 July.
It notes that some sunscreens already use nanoparticles to block harmful ultraviolet rays. Nanotechnology is also crucial in making computer chips, CDs and DVDs. There is no evidence that these existing technologies are risky, the report says.
But free-floating nanoparticles cannot be assumed to be safe just because the same chemical in…
