- News Articles - Reports & Articles - Radio Shows

A whole range of consumer products are infused with silver or titanium dioxide in order to fight bacteria. However, there might be negative side effects of these kinds of antibacterials. Over-using silver antibiotics and using them ubiquitously may lead to increased resistance, which will then lessen the effectiveness of the silver antibiotics in uses that are necessary (in hospitals, burn patients, etc.) Also, silver is toxic to many organisms. Widespread use of silver antibiotics could affect many organisms, which could have many negative ecological effects over the long-run. Finally, even though microscale silver has been used for hundreds of years, the use of NANO scale silver is a relatively new thing. At this scale, the silver is likely to be far more potent and reactive.

• News Articles on Antimicrobial Nanoproducts

- Increasing concern about silver
7 May 2008 - Printed Electronics, USA

- No Silver Bullets
6 May 2008 - New York Times Bits, USA

- Nano-silver: Looking a little tarnished?
2 May 2008 - Andrew Maynard for SafeNano, UK

- Groups demand EPA stop sale of 200+ potentually dangerous nano-silver products
1 May 2008 - NanoAction, USA

- Too much technology may be killing beneficial bacteria
29 April 2008 - NanoWerk, USA

- New Nanotech Products Hitting the Market at the Rate of 3-4 Per Week; Nanotechnology Consumer Products Are in Your Mouth and On Your Face
24 April 2008 - Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, USA

- A Silver Coating in the Fight Against Microbes
18 April 2008 - ScienceLine, USA

Archives

• Reports & Articles on Antimicrobial Nanoproducts

- Bacterial Resistance to Silver (Nano or Otherwise) - Environmental Defense, USA, April 2008
Silver is a potent antimicrobial, but numerous studies have documented resistance to it in several different types of bacterial. Nanosilver is the new kid on the block, generating a new wave of antimicrobial products, from odor-resistant socks to purportedly self-sterilizing computer mice. The widespread and indiscriminate use and release of such nanosilver materials could negatively impact both beneficial microbial communities in the ecosystem, and our capacity to combat dangerous microbes that threaten human health. Until we have a better understanding of the ramifications of the use of nanosilver in consumer products, strict regulation against overuse is warranted. There is also an urgent need for additional research before nanosilver is allowed to become ubiquitous in consumer products and our environment.

- Colloidal Silver Products - National Institutes of Health National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), USA
Animal studies have shown that silver builds up in the tissues of the body. In humans, buildup of silver from colloidal silver can lead to a side effect called argyria. It causes a bluish-gray discoloration of the skin, other organs, deep tissues, nails, and gums. Argyria cannot be treated or reversed, and it is permanent. While it is not known how argyria occurs, it is thought that silver combines with protein, forming complexes that deposit in the skin and are processed by sunlight (as in traditional photography). Other side effects from using colloidal silver products may include neurologic problems (such as seizures), kidney damage, stomach distress, headaches, fatigue, and skin irritation. Colloidal silver may interfere with the body's absorption of the following drugs: penacillamine, quinolones, tetracyclines, and thyroxine.

- Our Silver-Coated Future - On Earth, USA, Fall 2007
Already there are nanosilver coatings or infusions in computer keyboards, computer mice, nail clippers, dog food bowls, spatulas, back support pillows, pay phones, air purifiers, handrails, ATM buttons -- anywhere one set of hands might come into indirect contact with another set.

Might exposure to nanoscale particles of silver have more pernicious side-effects? It's hard to say, because few studies have been done specifically on nanosilver. Despite this uncertainty, consumer products with nanosilver keep being introduced. And without any requirements for premarket safety testing, manufacturers have no incentive to conduct such tests on their own

- Nanosilver - a threat to soil, water and human health? Friends of the Earth, Australia

- Silver – a toxic threat to our health and environment
Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden

- Silver as a biocide: will resistance become a problem?
Nature Biotechnology - Volume 16, October 1998

- AmericanBiotechLabs

- UW-Madison NSEC Website on NanoRisks related to Nano-Antimicrobials

- FoE calls for Samsung "Nano Silver" washing machine recall in face of growing risk concerns

• Radio Shows on Antimicrobial Nanoproducts

- EPA Moves Toward Nanotechnology Regulations
23 November - NPR, USA

• Archive News Articles on Antimicrobial Nanoproducts

2008

- Silver tongues: Regulators are looking more closely at nanotechnology claims
17 April 2008 - The Economist, UK

- As Nanotechnology Goes Mainstream, 'Toxic Socks' Raise Concerns; Unknown Risks From Nanosilver Cited
7 April 2008 - Science Daily, USA

- Big Worries About Micro Particles
7 April 2008 - The Tyee, Canada

- New Device for Germophobes Runs Into Old Law
6 March 2008 - New York Times, USA

- U.S. EPA fines Southern California technology company $208,000 for “nano coating” pesticide claims on computer peripherals
5 March 2008 - EPA, USA

- CCNY, Rice University Researchers Develop Low-Cost, "Green" Technique For Producing Antimicrobial Paints
22 January 2008 - CUNY Newswire, USA

2007

- Nano’s silver lining is… Blue?
22 December 2007 - Andrew Maynard for SafeNano, UK

- Nanosafety - the view from the salon
11 December 2007 - Rob Aitken for SafeNano, UK

- Nanotechnology exciting but risky - Could the environment become too clean?
20 November 2007 - Columbus Dispatch, USA

- Silver wares: Once reserved for jewellery and fillings, the metal is popping up in everything from active wear to facial cleanser
17 November 2007 - Globe and Mail, Canada

- Risks of nanosilver not well understood
5 November 2007 - The Vancouver Sun, Canada

- First of a kind real-time study of nanosilver in fish embryos raises hopes and concerns
24 October 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Who Put the Nano in My Teddy Bear?
17 October 2007 - Nanotechnology Now, USA

- Is Silver a Savior or a Menace?
24 September 2007 - BioMaterials Talks, USA

- Scientists probe secret to silver's success
11 June 2007 - NanotechWeb, USA

- MU Researchers To Examine Environmental, Health Effects of Silver Nanoparticles
1 June 2007 - University of Missouri-Columbia, USA

- Student designer and fiber scientists create a dress that prevents colds and a jacket that destroys noxious gases
1 May 2007 - Cornell University Press, USA

- Risks and Benefits of Nano-Silver
30 April 2007 - the Innovation Society, Switzerland

- FresherLonger, EPA, and nano one more time: It's all about labeling ... or not, rather
25 March 2007 - NanoPublic, USA

- Slivers of silver for what ails you?
22 March 2007 - CNN, USA

- CeBIT 2007: Samsung Aura Edition laptops with Silver Nano Technology announced - Promise of bacteria free computing
16 March 2007 - Pocket Lint, UK

- The dirt on cleaning clothes with nano-silver
1 March 2007 - Now Toronto.Com, USA

- Ozone nano-bubbles harnessed to sterilise water
28 February 2007 - FoodProductionDaily, USA

- Nano scale coating process developed for baking sector
28 February 2007 - FoodProductionDaily, USA

- Silver To Cure Diseases
27 February 2007 - Russia-InfoCenter, Russia

- EPA scrutinizes “nanosilver”
January 2007 - ConsumerReports, USA

- Book 'Em, Nano
24 January 2007 - Washington Post, USA

- Nano antimicrobial for wool
23 January 2007 - Small Times, USA

- Stabilizing antimicrobial nanosilver on a natural porous plant material
18 January 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Antimicrobial nanomaterials meet increased regulatory scrutiny
3 January 2007 - Environmental Science & Technology, USA

2006

- Nano Silver kills microbes - EPA up in Arms
7 December 2006 - Networking For A Better Future, USA

- Regulatory Status Update: Ion Generating Washing Machines
6 December 2006 - EPA, USA

- Argentum argumentum, The dulling of nanotech’s silver lining
1 December 2006 - The economist, UK

- The germs of life
November-December 2006 - Orion, USA

- Manufacturers removing nano labels from product descriptions
25 November 2006 - NanoPublic Blog, USA

- EPA, UW Pursue Potential Dangers Of Nanotechnology
24 November 2006 - The Capital Times, USA

- EPA to Regulate Nanoproducts Sold As Germ-Killing
23 November 2006 - Washington Post, USA

- EPA to Regulate Form of Nanotechnology
23 November 2006 - Herald Sun, USA

- Common sense about Samsung silver nanotechnology
21 November 2006 - Foresight, USA

- Concerns about nanotechnology washing machine
16 November 2006 - Nanowerk LLC, USA

- Does silver fight bacteria?
14 November 2006 - WCPO, USA

- Thailand : Nanotechnology to give birth to nano-fabrics (antimicrobial textiles in school kids' uniforms)
7 November 2006 - Fibre2Fashion

- Hong Kong testing anti-bacterial nano-coating in subways
5 November 2006 - Nanotechbuzz, USA

- A small matter of great concern
October 2006 - ConsumerReports, USA

- Testing SilverCare’s mettle
October 2006 - ConsumerReports, USA

- Anti-flu disinfectant for London transport?
23 October 2006 - ASLEF, UK

- Anti-flu spray could be used on UK's trains
23 October 2006 - 24Dash.com, UK

- Products Infused With Silver Investigated
23 August 2006 - WSBtv.com, USA

- This war against germs has a silver lining
6 June 2006 - The Wall Street Journal, USA

- Swedish pharmacies ban silver band-aids
April 2006 - Miljöaktuellt, Sweden

2005

- Chinese float liquid condom concept
21 November 2005 - The Register, UK