FDA is petitioned on nanomaterials

A coalition of eight consumer and environmental organizations has petitioned FDA to address what they call the human health and environmental risks of untested and unlabeled nanomaterials in consumer products. Led by the Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA), the groups are concerned that FDA hasn't taken steps to develop health and safety tests for products containing nanomaterials despite the groups' assertion that these materials have "fundamentally different properties from their bulk material counterparts." Part of the petition specifically seeks FDA action on titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanomaterials used in sunscreens. Sunscreens were highlighted because "they are the poster child of FDA's gross failure to adequately protect the public's health and safety," said ICTA attorney George A. Kimbrell. FDA does not comment on any pending legal challenges and has six months to respond to the petition, after which the groups can file a lawsuit on the matter.