WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- An environmental group is calling for a U.S. moratorium on the commercial release of products that contain manufactured nanosilver.
The U.S. environment group Friends of the Earth and Health Care Without Harm Europe released a report Thursday detailing their concerns of a growing public health threat posed by nanosilver particles in consumer products.
"What we've learned is alarming," report author Ian Illuminato, of the Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. "Major corporations are putting nanosilver into a wide variety of consumer products with virtually no oversight, and there are potentially serious health consequences as a result. The workers who manufacture these products, the families that use them, and the environment are all at risk."
Silver has been known to be a potent antimicrobial agent, however, recently it has been used in medical applications as well as children's toys, baby bottles, cosmetics, textiles, cleaning agents, chopping boards, refrigerators and dishwashers, the report said.
Much of the silver is manufactured at the nanoscale -- extremely tiny particles that behave differently than larger particles and are especially potent.
Illuminato said studies suggest that the widespread use of nanosilver poses serious health and environmental risks and that it could promote antibacterial resistance, undermining its efficacy in a medical context.
"Nanosilver doesn't distinguish between good and bad bacteria -- it kills all bacteria with which it interacts, many of which are necessary for our survival and the survival of other living organisms," Illuminato said
