
Nanosilver: What action needs to be taken to protect Canadians from this emerging contaminant?
-
Nanosilver is an emerging nanomaterial that is widely known for its antimicrobial properties—it releases silver ions that are highly toxic to bacteria.
-
Nanosilver use in consumer products (and its eventual release into the environment) is currently unregulated in Canada.
-
Canada needs to protect its environment and citizens by following the precautionary principle of regulating nanosilver and providing standards and guidelines for manufacturers and consumers alike.
Nanosilver is an emerging nanomaterial that is widely known for its antimicrobial properties—it releases silver ions that are highly toxic to bacteria.
While it is used in over 440 consumer products, research at IISD Experimental Lakes Area has discovered that nanosilver can have adverse effects on the health of freshwater fish—significant enough to warrant including it as part of Canada’s water safety guidelines for the metal.
In this policy brief, we explore what nanosilver is, why exactly you need to be worried about it, and what Canada should be doing to protect the country's fresh water from this currently unregulated substance.
You might also be interested in
The State of Play of Natural Infrastructure on the Canadian Prairies
We sat down with key experts across the region and reviewed the latest literature to determine how we take natural infrastructure from novel to normal on Canada's Prairies.
Funding for Canadian Prairies’ water infrastructure urgently needed, but nature offers innovative solutions—new report
The Canadian Prairie provinces’ water infrastructure is aging and depreciating at an alarming rate. However, natural infrastructure can offer a practical and cost-effective solution when scaled up and adopted across all levels of government.
COMMENTARY: Can we afford to continue removing wetlands from New Brunswick?
Industrial parks and wetlands; can we have both? Moncton Industrial Development Ltd. filed an environmental impact assessment in December to build an industrial park covering about 259 acres between Berry Mills Road and the CN rail yard. The site is currently a primarily tree-covered lot which includes wetlands and watercourses.
A focus on water can lessen climate change’s burn
Canadians need water infrastructure to protect us in the face of mounting risks of flooding, drought, extreme heat, and wildfires.