Seit 2005

12.01.2015

Interpellation on insufficient nanotoxicology studies

A study published last October by EMPA scientist Harald Krug on the quality of nanotoxicology studies received a lot of attention: Several Swiss newspapers touched on the subject and the National Councillor Maya Graf submitted an interpellation to the Swiss Federal Council together with 11 cosignatories.

The negligent performance of experiments and the low explanatory power identified by Krug alarm the National Councillors. After all, the investigations are intended to answer essential questions concerning potential dangers posed by nanotechnologies and nanomaterials.

The cosignatories wonder whether it is responsible to admit nanomaterials for the application in consumer products, in particular in exposure relevant sectors such as food or cosmetics. The EMPA and the Swiss federation announced to develop standards for the proceeding in nanotoxicological laboratory experiments. This is perceived as a positive step but is also criticized as being difficult to assess, especially in respect of the time dimension. Thus, the interpellation addresses two question to the Federal Council:

  1. Is the Federal Council willing to develop a set of measures designed to harmonize the standardization process of nanotoxicology studies and to provide a time schedule?
  2. Does the Federal Council think that the created standards should be regulated in a legally binding manner?

So far, the interpellation has not been in the council nor has it been answered by the federal council.

Source: Database of parliamentary proceedings of the Swiss parliament

Image source: © Franz Pfluegl – Fotolia.com