Mesothelioma.com, "the authority on mesothelioma and asbestos cancer", have published an information sheet that warns that exposure to nanotubes could pose similar risks to those of asbestos.

"Current research suggests that exposure to carbon-based nanotubes may lead to the development of mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and has no known cure. Scientists have called for further research and great caution before introducing large numbers of products containing nanotubes into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided. In particular, they suggest that further testing related to nanotube exposure and the onset of mesothelioma is crucial".

The European Trade Union Confederation, representing 82 European trade unions, has called for the “no safety data, no market” principle to be applied to nanoparticles. In its new statement the ETUC “calls on the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to refuse to register chemicals for which manufacturers fail to supply the data required to ensure the manufacture, marketing and use of their nanometer forms that has no harmful effects for human health and the environment at all stages of their life cycle”.

The Council of Canadian Academies has released a new report which warns that the health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials are both serious and poorly understood. The CCA report also warns that "current [Canadian] regulatory triggers are not sufficient to identify all nanomaterials entering the market that may require regulatory oversight". That is, some - if not many - nanomaterials remain effectively unregulated, and don't even trigger new safety assessments before they are used in products like cosmetics, sunscreens, food packaging or clothes.

A new report has found huge gaps in the ability of Australia’s laws to deal with the health and environment risks introduced by nanotechnology.
Click here for a copy of the report

These truck-sized holes in our regulation of the science of the small leaves nanomaterials used in hundreds of Australian products effectively unregulated.

The review of Australia’s regulatory capacity to manage new risks associated with the use of extremely tiny particles and technologies was conducted by a team of researchers at Monash University.

We have just published English, French and Spanish summaries of our report "Out of the laboratory and on to our plates: Nanotechnology in food and agriculture".

Click here to read "Summary – Out of the laboratory and on to our plates: Nanotechnology in food and agriculture".

New research published this week shows that multi-walled carbon nanotubes cause asbestos-like disease when injected into mice stomachs. The shocking findings have prompted The Australian Cancer Council's CEO Professor Ian Olver to call for new standards to manage nanoparticles in consumer products like sunscreen, cosmetics and medications. Professor Olver warned that we need much more information about the health risks posed by nanoparticles, including whether or not they can be taken up through our skin, before nano sunscreens should be sold commercially. Click here for the transcript of the interview with Professor Olver on ABC Radio National's The World Today.

New scientific evidence has been published that multi-walled carbon nanotubes – the so-called 'wonder material' of nanotechnology – cause mesothelioma in test mice. A scientific study published in the May issue of "Nature Nanotechnology" joins a February study published in the "Journal of Toxicological Sciences" in demonstrating that multi-walled carbon nanotubes induce asbestos-like pathogenicity when injected into mice stomachs.

Our new report (text only version here) reveals that at least 104 food, food packaging and agricultural products containing nano-ingredients are now on sale internationally. These include diet replacement milkshakes, cooking oil, tea and fortified fruit juice; food additives sold for use in processed meats, soft drinks, bakery and dairy products; long-life and antibacterial food packaging; and antibacterial kitchenware. In light of the evidence that many nano-ingredients used in these products pose new toxic risks for humans and the environment, Friends of the Earth is calling for a halt to the sale of nanofoods until they can be shown to be safe.