Groups Petition EPA to Regulate Nanosilver

In November 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance for a washing machine that uses nanoparticles of silver, regulating the machine as a pesticide (see

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Vol. 16, No. 1). At that time, EPA decided not to create broader rules governing nanosilver in general.

In response to what it sees as a failure by EPA to act, a group of nonprofit organizations led by the International Center for Technology Assessment has filed a petition demanding that nanosilver be classified and regulated as a pesticide. The petition also calls for further study of nanosilver and action against companies using nanosilver without pesticide labeling and precautions. The signatories on the petition include Beyond Pesticides, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the Center for Environmental Health, among others. The petition is available at www.nanoaction.org (click on “legal actions”). For more information on nanotechnology, see

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Vol. 17, No. 3.