AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming pervasive reality in New Zealand, but where are the checks and balances to protect consumers, workers and the environment, asks the Sustainability Council.

The council, which monitors issues that affect the health of New Zealanders and the environment, said in a press release last month that the novel technology is currently racing ahead of adequate government regulation.

The government has little idea of which nano products are in the market as there is no official registry of nano products in New Zealand and no labeling requirements.

Substances such as silver, carbon, titanium, zinc and iron, when reduced to their nanoscale, take on entirely different and unpredictable properties. An increasing body of research shows that nanomaterials could be potentially dangerous.

Testing and approving nanomaterials from creation to disposal is vital believes the council, as very little is known about how such materials will affect our biological and ecological systems.

Bluescope Steel Australia raised the alarm in December 2008 when their research showed that interaction between pre-painted roofing and the nano-sunscreen used by workers, caused the roofing to age 100 times faster than was normal.

Friends of the Earth (FOE) Australia says that laboratory tests show that nano-sunscreens produce dangerous free radicals and damage DNA, particularly when exposed to UV radiation.

Dr. Simon Brown, Associate Professor of Physics at Canterbury University, says there is a “significant degree of uncertainty” over the safety of products such as nano-sunscreens and people should be able to make an informed choice.

However, this is not possible, he says, if products such as sunscreens are not required to label nanomaterials.

Fullerenes, a type of nanoscale carbon, are found in cosmetics sold in New Zealand despite having been removed from shelves in the European Union and Australia over safety concerns, says the Sustainability Council.

Perricone MD’s Ceramic Eye Smoother and Skin Smoother and Dr. Brandt’s Lineless Cream carry labels listing fullerenes, but it is quite likely that other big name cosmetics also contain unlisted fullerenes.

The commercial use of nanosilver, the most commonly used nanomaterial, is also controversial-it is used in home appliances, cell phones, toys, food wrappings, toothpaste, plasters and wound dressings, cups, clothing and many other products.

It is touted as a superior anti-bacterial agent in the Samsung’s Silvercare range of washing machines. Bulk silver is classified as a hazardous substance by ERMA but nanosilver is unregulated.

Caught up in the nanotech hype, Fisher & Paykel spent years investigating the merits of adding nanosilver to the wash cycle of its range of washing machines. By 2006, they concluded that the slight commercial edge was more than offset by the potential environmental damage posed by nanosilver in waterways.

Nanoparticles in a paint factory in China were linked to the deaths of two women, and another five were left with permanent lung damage according to a Reuters report last year. The women had worked in the factory for 5 to 13 months.

English biophysicist Dr. Mae-Wan Ho wrote in March’s Institute Of Science in Society (ISIS) report that these first cases of “suspected nanotoxicity” underlined concerns that the use of nanotechnology in manufacturing was racing ahead in an unregulated market despite mounting evidence that many nanoingredients were toxic.

“Commercialisation of nanoproducts is often occurring well before their risks have been understood,” says the Sustainability Council.

“Our concern is that we get the right kind of governance in place and that will help provide a filter so that we don’t end up with a latter-day asbestos tragedy ...,” says council researcher Stephanie Howard.

ERMA (Environmental Risk Management Authority) says that regulations governing nanomaterials are being revisited to see whether they manage “the potential risks of manufactured nanomaterials or need to be improved.” The results are due out this month.

The Sustainability Council says this is not enough. It is unlikely that underfunded agencies such as ERMA, who oversee hazardous substances management, will be able to manage the anticipated flood of increasingly complex nano products and materials coming into the market—a process that will require an extremely high level of expertise.

“I think that government should be taking a much more active role in regulating these products,” agrees Dr. Brown. ”They need to be working hard to develop testing regimes and thinking about issues like labeling and registries of products.”

Regulation for Nanotech an Absolute Must