EPA Explores Nanoscale Technology to Address Large-scale Problems

Warren Layne
Environmental Protection Agency Region 5

Some of the biggest issues associated with the "small" science called nanotechnology are the effects, both positive and negative, that nanoscale materials and products may have on human health and the environment. Of course when one speaks of nanotechnology, he or she is actually referring to the many areas of science and engineering that deal with the study and manipulation of matter at the nanoscale, rather than any singular area of study. The nanoscale, which lies between one and 100 nanometers in any given dimension, grants nanoparticles unusual elemental properties and behaviors. These novel properties could pose novel toxicity issues that do not arise in bulk quantities of the same compound. As we grapple to learn about materials at the nanoscale and develop innovations to harness their new properties, we do so in a legal grey area, as there are no nano-specific regulations governing such materials.

Just as changes in behavior or property do not equate to toxicity, a lack of nano-specific regulation does not mean that there is a regulatory vacuum or even that existing regulation is inadequate. Nevertheless, it also does not mean that such materials are inherently nontoxic, and, correspondingly, it does not mean that existing regulations are sufficient in and of themselves given the unknowns.

Research and Development

To address these uncertainties, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking an active role in examining the issues surrounding nanotechnology both as a potential threat to the environment and as an effective tool for environmental protection and pollution mitigation. As one of more than 20 federal agencies and departments participating in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), EPA receives funding for nanoscale science and engineering research and development related to issues within EPA's purview, including: assessing the toxicity of manufactured nanoparticles as related to human health and the environment; monitoring nanomaterials throughout their life cycle; and the evaluating the potential bioavailability or bioaccumulation of nanomaterials. Along with these possible downside risks, which require much further study, EPA has identified actual, as well as prospective, nano applications for treatment of some environmental hazards. These include site remediation, nano sensors or detectors, and environmentally benign manufacturing and treatment processes.

EPA describes its tripartite approach to nanotechnology as comprised of the following three goals: (1) to clean up past environmental problems; (2) to improve present processes, and (3) to prevent future environmental problems. In addition to agency research, EPA cooperates with other agencies to conduct larger-scale projects, and solicits research from and provides funding to outside institutions and organizations. To date, solicitation programs have resulted in 55 papers on the environmental and human health effects of nanomaterials and on environmentally benign manufacturing processes.

Regulation

In addition to its technical activities, EPA acts as a rulemaking body capable of and responsible for crafting environmental regulations. Until -- if ever -- nano-specific environmental legislation is enacted, EPA has responsibility for enforcing existing federal environmental laws, as well as the power to amend existing regulations.

To that end, in its Nanotechnology White Paper,¹ which examines the implications of nanotechnology on human health and the environment, EPA analyzed the current regulatory scheme provided by existing environmental statutes, such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts (CAA and CWA). Presently, review of nanomaterials and processes occurs ­ and will continue to occur -- under existing product review and pollution prevention pursuant to the current environmental regulatory rubric.

Environmental Stewardship

Aside from regulation and enforcement, EPA has begun implementing programs designed to tackle problems associated with the interaction between the commercial and public spheres. As another facet of EPA's risk management framework, the agency hopes to implement environmental stewardship programs to proactively address issues of human and environmental health and safety before such risks materialize. In working with producers and users of nanotechnology at the early stages of development, EPA hopes to promote voluntary standards and best practices, less-toxic production techniques, pollution-prevention principles, and open dialogue with all stakeholders. Additionally, EPA intends to modify existing systems or establish entirely new information collection protocols in order to create engineered nanomaterial inventories.

Conclusion

Based on its mission of protecting human health and the environment, EPA implements and enforces a plethora of programs related to air and water quality and the management of chemicals. In recognition of nanotechnology's innumerable, possible applications, and their concomitant implications, EPA is intermingling nanoscale research into all aspects of agency action.

Warren Layne is a chemist at the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5.

¹ U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, NANOTECHNOLOGY WHITE PAPER - EXTERNAL REVIEW DRAFT (Dec. 2005), available at http://www.epa.gov/OSA/nanotech.htm (last visited Nov. 2006).