Appliance Design - November 2008 - (Page 6)

NEWS WATCH W Tarnishing gnihsinraT Nanosilver revlisonaN tion on the potential risks posed by nanoscale silver and oversight of nanotechnology as a whole. “We need not assume that because nano is new, we have no scientific basis for managing risks,” said Samuel N. Luoma, the author of the PEN report “Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment: Old Problems or New Challenges?” The report offers a dozen lessons concerning silver in general that can be followed for managing the potential environmental risks posed by nanosilver. “Our existing knowledge of silver in the environment provides a starting point for some assessments and points toward some of the new questions raised by the unique properties for nanoparticles that need to be addressed through new research,” Luoma said. The mass of silver dispersed into the environment from new products could be substantial if one product, or a combination of such products, becomes widespread. “The silver that went into wastewaters when millions of people had their photographs developed taught us that small additions of silver to the environment make a big difference,” Luoma added. Luoma is a former senior researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey who now leads science policy coordination for the John Muir Institute of the space heating. According to the report, some regions are using CHP more than others. Denmark, for example, generates 40 percent of its power from CHP, while Finland, Russia, Latvia, and the Netherlands also generate a third to a half of their energy with CHP. Other countries are trying to expand CHP integration. Germany is aiming to double its CHP energy component to 25 percent by 2020 through government-backed ill the growing use of nanoscale silver ultimately cause more harm than good? That is the question posed by many these days, accompanying concerns over the effect of nanosilver on the environment. Nanoscale silver is already embedded into more than 200 consumer products, including residential and commercial appliances, where it is employed for its antimicrobial properties. But silver is classified as an environmental hazard by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency because the metal is toxic to aquatic plants and animals. A recent report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies suggests that widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance its important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology. The issue of assessing the risks posed by nanoscale silver was highlighted after the EPA’s San Francisco office earlier this year imposed a landmark fine of more than $200,000 on a California company selling computer keyboards and mouses coated with nanosilver. EPA issued the fine on the grounds that the products should have been registered under federal pesticide law because of the company’s germ-killing claims. Similar fines have not been imposed since, but the action is focusing atten- Environment at the University of California, Davis. “Perhaps more significant, we have no means of detecting nanosilver in the environment once it is released, even if concentrations rise to levels that are toxic to aquatic ecosystems.” The scope of the new challenge is not yet clear because it is uncertain how much nanosilver is now used as an antimicrobial in commercial and consumer products, and because new uses are likely to be discovered in the future, according to J. Clarence Davies, a PEN senior adviser and a former EPA policy official. “Regardless of the scope of the nanosilver problem, it underscores the need for more risk research and new approaches to oversight to deal with new technologies and problems of the new century,” Davies said. The complete report on nanoscale silver can be viewed at the following web site: http://www.nanotechproject.org/ publications/archive/silver/ < incentives that will pay CHP owners for extra power they generate and sell back to the grid. These incentives are guaranteed until 2016. Although the amount of CHP generated in the UK has almost doubled in recent years from 3.68 GW in 1998 to 5.55 GW in 2006, it is still a largely neglected energy source, the report says. The UK could potentially generate 17 percent of its power requirements using CHP by 2020. Greater use www.applianceDESIGN.com CHP UNDERUSED. Combined heat and power is an underused technology that could improve energy efficiency if better utilized, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The IEA is a France-based agency that consults with 28 countries including the U.S. and Canada. The technology uses internal combustion energy to generate electricity, while capturing the excess heat created during that combustion for water and 6 applianceDESIGN November 2008 http://www.nanotechproject.org/publications/archive/silver http://www.nanotechproject.org/publications/archive/silver http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - November 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Metals & Metal Parts Gas Technology Displays Quality & Standards New Products Design Marts Association Report: AHAM Advertiser's Index

Appliance Design - November 2008

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