November 2010

In an article published in the November 11, 2010, issue of Toxics Law Reporter -- Nanoparticles : New Frontier for Product Liability Mass Torts/Class Action Claims --I discuss the prospect of nanoparticle mass tort/class action litigation, the likely claims and defenses, and offer a preview of potential Daubert-style challenges to exposure, dose, and causation experts given the state of science and the law in late 2010.

In a two-part blog article, I have excerpted and condensed that article. In Part 1, on November 14, I discussed the likely mass tort/class action claims. In Part 2 below I discuss the tactics for defeating early mass nanotort claims.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have many unique structural and mechanical properties. As a result, their potential applications -- especially in materials science and mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and medical chemistry -- have been increasing. Results of studies in animals have raised concerns about the potential toxicity of some shapes and sizes of carbon nanotubes but the toxicological impact of nanoparticles has rarely been studied in plants.

Recent research by a team of scientists from China, led by Dr. Nan Yao, explored the effects of nanoparticles on plant cells. Their assessment of SWCNT cytotoxicity is published in the October 2010 issue of the American Journal of Botany.

The existence of a large, well-financed mass tort infrastructure makes it likely that plaintiffs’ attorneys will try to exploit the Age of Nanotechnology through mass tort and class actions. Plaintiffs who already have a disease will assert that their diseases were caused by or exacerbated by their exposures to anoparticles. Those without disease will assert a need for medical monitoring.

In an article published in the November 11, 2010, issue of Toxics Law Reporter -- Nanoparticles : New Frontier for Product Liability Mass Torts/Class Action Claims --I discuss the prospect of nanoparticle mass tort/class action litigation, the likely claims and defenses, and offer a preview of potential Daubert-style challenges to exposure, dose, and causation experts given the state of science and the law in late 2010. 

In a two-part blog article, I have excerpted and condensed the article. Here is Part 1.

The American Society for Nanomedicine wrapped up its second annual conference in October 2010 with a presentation by two toxicology experts.  The meeting focused on mind-blowing nanomedicine research, but was tempered by a sobering message: "a new frontier comes with new, and often unknown, risks."

Gunter Oberdorster, a professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester, and Paul Howard, an official with the Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Toxicology Research, each said there are reasons to be concerned about the human and environmental impact of nanomedicine, particularly since there is a simple lack of knowledge about exactly what these new materials do.

According to Oberdorster, who is well-known and highly regarded in the nanotoxicology field, the common thinking about all nanomaterials is that they’re small and move freely around the body, and that humans have few defenses against them. Oberdorster suggested that it now seems clear that some nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes, can do harm to the body. But it is still unknown how other engineered nanosubstances, especially those being used in medical applications, will fare.

Zinc, one of the most abundant metals in biological systems, is essential to life.  Zinc plays an important role in the brain; pancreas; intestine; and in the salivary, pituitary, and prostate glands.  Excess zinc, however, is toxic and can suppress absorption of other life-critical metals.  The question is, what are the likely health impacts of zinc oxide nanoparticles?  

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are already commonly used in personal-care product formulations (sunscreens and cosmetics) as a protective agent against UV radiation.  A number of groups have raised questions whether zinc oxide nanoparticles are safe.  For example, in my post, Are Nanoparticles in Sunscreens Safe?  Friends of the Earth says "Nano should be a no-no," I point out that FoE claims that scientific research already completed indicates that metal oxide nanomaterials used in sunscreens (such as zinc oxide) can:

• Damage human colon cells.
• Damage brain stem cells in mice.
• Penetrate healthy adult skin.
• Travel up the food chain from smaller to larger organisms.
• Damage important microbes in the environment.
• Travel from mothers to unborn fetuses.

The existing research does not, in my view, support the FoE's strong and unqualified conclusions that nanoparticles like ZnO are dangerous to humans when used in topically applied suncreens and cosmetics.  

Meanwhile, new research in the past few months sheds additional light but also raises questions for further study.

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