The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created usage regulations - called a “significant new use rule,” or SNUR - for nanoparticles. The regulations fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and will require people to notify the EPA at least ninety days prior to manufacturing, processing or importing nanomaterials.

The TSCA has designated certain nanomaterials as requiring a SNUR, including carbon nanotubes, which were added to their list in October. Carbon nanotubes, or CNTs, are different from traditional carbon compounds and are still being investigated. Studies in the last year have revealed that CNTs may cause cancerous tumors when injected into the abdomen of laboratory mice that are biologically similar to mesothelioma cancer tumors.

News stories published over the summer months created a panic around the use of CNTs, claiming that they were “the new asbestos” and that people who came into contact with CNT-containing products were at risk of one day developing cancer.

According to the EPA, the “significant new use rule” was instituted because nanomaterials “may be more chemically reactive, have different strength or electrical properties, or be more mobile, than similar materials that are larger in scale.” In other words, the extremely tiny size of nanomaterials (including CNTs) presents the potential for more frequent and misunderstood chemical reactions, which essentially renders nanomaterials an “unstable” material.

Both the EPA and nanoscientists agree that further research into the safety of nanomaterials, CNTs included, is absolutely necessary. For now, the EPA has created the SNUR in an effort to protect the health and safety of all individuals who come into contact with nanomaterials.

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