The EPA recently released a draft of its "Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray" which you can download here. The document is 323 pages long and has 6 chapters: (i) Introduction; (ii) Introduction to Silver and Nanoscale Silver; (iii) Life-Cycle Stages; (iv) Fate and Transport in Environmental Media; (v) Exposure, Uptake, and Dose; and (vi) Characterization of Effects.
In two chapters most pertinent to our readers, the document discusses the possible EHS ramifications of the manufacturing and use of nanoscale silver disinfectants over a wide-range of issues. Regarding Life-Cycle Stages, the document covers five primary product stages: feedstocks; manufacturing; distribution and storage; use; and disposal. Similarly, regarding fate and transport in the environment, the document discusses air, terrestrial, and aquatic systems and factors that effect transport and fate in each media.
Overall , the document appears to mirror the approach used in EPA’s prior draft case study on nanoscale titanium dioxide used in drinking water systems and in sunscreens which was published in 2009.
Written comments on the draft are due to EPA by September 27, 2010.
