Friends of the Earth has renewed its calls for a ban on the use of nano-silver in consumer products, after a new a UNSW study has found that overexposure to silver nanoparticles can cause potentially harmful bacteria to rapidly adapt and flourish. 

Accusations in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Canberra Times and other outlets that “lives may be lost” due to Friends of the Earth’s nano sunscreen campaign are defamatory and a classic case of shoot the messenger.

Outraged by the revelations about potentially dangerous nano-ingredients in sunscreen, a group of Melbourne mums recently decided to take matters into their own hands and remove the offending products from supermarket shelves.

New testing from the National Measurement Institute (NMI) has revealed that many Australian sunscreen and cosmetic products still contain anatase titanium dioxide, despite years of warnings of its extreme potential to generate free radicals - which could damage DNA and protein. 

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For nearly a century we have used antimicrobials to wage a war on bacteria. We have learned to fight off these 'enemies' by using stronger and stronger antibiotics and other antimicrobial weapons. As bacteria have found ways to resist the lethal effects of one antimicrobial weapon, we have discovered and unleashed new antimicrobials.

The FoE Nano Campaign have found an unusual ally in union leader Paul Howes who has likened nanotechnology to asbestos and called for more research to ease fears that the growing use of nanoparticles could endanger manufacturing workers.

Nearly 6 months after Friends of the Earth lodged an ACCC complaint against Antaria for misleadingly marketing the product as ‘non-nano’, the company has finally admitted that its ZinClear IM sunscreen ingredient is a nanomaterial. The ACCC is due to make public its findings regarding the complaint shortly.

A broad coalition of organisations have launched a statement calling for urgent action to tackle the looming antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. The statement, endorsed by the Public Health Association of Australia, Friends of the Earth Australia, The Australia Institute and the National Toxics Network has been released to coincide with the current Senate Inquiry into antimicrobial resistance. 

Belgium, Denmark and Norway have given further details of their plans to follow France by requiring companies to report information about their use of nanomaterials. The fact that other countries are already implementing such systems stretches the credibility of the Federal Government’s claim that the feasibility of implementing a similar system here is "questionable". Sweden is also investigating whether it needs a national register and is due to report on its findings later this year.