Tag Archives: Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray (Final Report)

Nanosilver disinfectant spray: final report from the US Environmental Protection Agency

The Aug.5, 2012 news item on Nanowerk is an announcement of the final report from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Center for Environmental Assessment on nanosilver  (nano Ag) disinfectant spray,

This report presents a case study of engineered nanoscale silver (nano-Ag), focusing on the specific example of nano-Ag as possibly used in disinfectant sprays.
This case study is organized around the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which structures available information pertaining to the product life cycle, environmental transport and fate, exposure-dose in receptors (i.e., humans, ecological populations, and the environment), and potential impacts in these receptors. The document does not draw conclusions about potential risks. Instead, it is intended to be used as part of a process to identify what is known and unknown about nano-Ag in a selected application. In turn, the external review draft of the document provided a starting point to identify and prioritize possible research directions to support future assessments of nanomaterials.

The Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray (Final Report) is approximately 423 pages and the comprehensive environmental assessment framework mentioned seems to be an analytical tool used to establish directions for future research. In a July 5, 2012 posting (Toxicology convo heats up: OECD releases report on inhalation toxicity testing and Nature Nanotechnology publishes severe critique of silver toxicity overanalysis) I made note of some comments on inhalation testing and reports about nanosilver toxicity issued by international institutions that seem à propos in this context. (I first wrote about this study in an Aug. 17, 2010 posting when the EPA had released a draft version for comments.)