Law Times

PAGE 10 FOCUS march 30, 2009 • Law Times government is taking the fi rst steps towards regulating nano- materials. hey're tiny, used widely, and potentially danger- ous, and now the federal Canada announced it is drafting a notice under the Canadian En- Earlier this year, Environment First step taken to regulate nanomaterials T BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times formulating regulations targeted at companies making or bring- ing in at least one kilogram of nanomaterials during 2008, ac- cording to Environment Canada spokeswoman hani. Companies would have four to six months to comply. For Barry Weintraub, the fact that scientists and policymakers know little about the tiny particles despite their widespread applica- Sujata Raising- nanomaterials is that existing laws don't necessarily capture them, says Maureen Carter- Whitney, a lawyer and research director at the Canadian Insti- tute for Environmental Law and Policy in Toronto. Th at's due to gaps in CEPA's new substance notifi cation regulations, which require companies to report materials they plan to intro- duce so that authorities can as- The thing about nano stuff is it's almost like we're starting from scratch with the chemistry. We don't yet have a clear sense of what tests need to be done on nanomaterials. vironmental Protection Act that would require companies that manufacture or import nanoma- terials — tiny particles measur- ing as little as one billionth of a metre — to report on factors such as how they're using them, any existing data on physical or chemical properties, and any other information that will help assess them. Th e notice, which would be a one-time request and not a continuous requirement, would help provide a basis for tions makes it imperative that gov- ernments move quickly on regula- tions. "Absolutely, it is something that is important for everybody to be thinking about because it chal- lenges the basic notion of how we regulate from an environmental perspective," says Weintraub, a partner and environmental lawyer with Rueter Scargall Bennett LLP in Toronto. "Th at's something that we're going to need to come to terms with." Th e challenge with regulating sess whether they're safe. With nanomaterials, they don't nec- essarily have unique molecular arrangements from their macro counterparts, meaning the law wouldn't consider them new. As a result, while they might have diff erent properties that can harm — or help — people and the environment, they wouldn't fall under the notifi cation rules. "Th ere are indications of form," says Carter-Whitney. One substance of current con- cern is titanium dioxide, which many makers of sunscreen use in nanoscale in order to make their product transparent on the skin. Its molecular structure is the same in both its macro and nano forms, meaning it doesn't classify as a new substance. Sci- entists, meanwhile, are looking into whether the tiny particles in sunscreen can enter skin cells, prompting worry that they could damage them. But the real prob- lem is the lack of research, says Susan Holtz, senior policy analyst for CIELAP. "It's not really clear," she says of the potential harm, "mainly because we don't have enough scientifi c studies about what the eff ects are." A key concern with nanopar- ticles is their size, which Holtz notes can allow them to cross the body's fi lters that normally keep foreign toxicity even from elements that are not toxic in their macro brain. It was only recently, she adds, that researchers discovered how nano-sized particles in ve- hicle exhaust cause heart disease. substances out of the Th at happens when tiny par- ticulates in smog build up in the blood and develop into plaque, thereby blocking the circulation system. As a result, they can be deadly even though they're not technically toxic, Holtz notes. Other issues include the fact that nanoparticles can have a dif- ferent charge from their larger version. And with a much higher ratio of surface area to volume, that can mean potential impacts on cells. Holtz also points out that carbon nanotubes, which many manufacturers use to make electronics, have proven to act like asbestos in mice. So, workers exposed to it during the manu- facturing process could be at risk. As well, nanosilver appears to kill soil bacteria, which is "not a good thing," Holtz says. But with its strong antibiotic proper- ties, health institutions use it in wound dressings. One manufac- turer of washing machines also tried to introduce it into its prod- ucts in order to sanitize clothes, she notes. Some of the most com- mon applications of nanoparti- cles include cosmetics and cloth- ing treatments that make fabrics stain resistant, Holtz adds. "Th e thing about nano stuff is it's almost like we're starting from scratch with the chemistry. We don't yet have a clear sense of what tests need to be done on nanomaterials." As a result, companies have Annotated Guide to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act Joseph F. Castrilli Past authors: Daniel C. Blasioli and Michel Arès This resource unravels the complications of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and offers a practical explanation of how each of the Act's more than 356 sections operates and relate to one another. 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Working with international organizations such as the Organisation for Eco- nomic Co-operation and Devel- opment would be key, the report from Environment Canada and Health Canada noted. But so far, Carter-Whitney says that Environment Canada's recent one-time reporting requirements puts Canada ahead of many other countries on the issue. "I think the federal government is on the right track. I think it's moving quite slow, though." Nevertheless, while some announcement about LT0330 groups are calling for bans on nanomaterials, Holtz says they do have benefi ts, particularly in areas such as renewable energy where they have the potential to allow for better and cheaper batteries for electricity storage. "Th ere's huge potential for these things," she notes. Still, Carter-Whitney argues that with all the unknowns, the government needs to take a pre- cautionary approach that pre- vents companies from introduc- ing products until they can prove that they're safe. "Th ere really just are lots of questions in every area of nanotechnology. We don't have a really strong sense of what the potential impacts are." LT

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