Comment Sought on Petition for Nanoscale Silver Rulemaking

EPA has published a notice seeking public comment on a petition filed by a number of environmental and consumer interest groups calling on the agency to classify nano-silver as a pesticide, require “formal pesticide registration of all products containing nanoscale silver, analyze the potential human health and environmental risks of nanoscale silver, [and] take regulatory actions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) against existing products that contain nanoscale silver.” Comments must be submitted by January 20, 2008.

According to the notice, potentially affected parties are those businesses “engaged in the manufacturing of pesticides and other agricultural
chemicals.” The petitioners, including the International Center for Technology Assessment, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch, and the Consumers Union, apparently note that “scientists have identified that nanoscale materials can have fundamentally different properties from the non-nanoscale or bulk forms of the same compounds, and that these unique properties may pose new environmental and human health risks.” The petitioners also apparently contend that “the Agency has not provided adequate regulatory oversight for this emerging technology” and request the action because of “the rapid commercialization of nanotechnology.” See Federal Register, November 19, 2008.