Sunday 26 February 2012
published in ACS' journal, Environmental Science and Technology, it provides the first broadly based information on amounts of the nanomaterial - a source of concern with regard to its potential health and environmental effects - in a wide range of consumer goods.
In the study, Paul Westerhoff, Ph.D., and colleagues point out that titanium dioxide is a common additive to many consumer products, from food to paint to cosmetics.
Westerhoff explained that the body releases the nanoparticles in feces and urine, sending them to wastewater treatment plants, which cannot prevent the smallest particles from entering lakes and rivers. Only one previous study, done a decade ago, reported on titanium dioxide content in a few commercial products.
