Sep 13 2007
Fears were expressed about the safety of some cosmetics at the BA Festival of Science in York on Wednesday.
The products contain buckyballs – carbon molecules known as fullerenes – whose safety in cosmetics was questioned by chemistry professor Tony Ryan from the University of Sheffield.
Sircuit® Cosmeceuticals Inc's website advertises skin nutrient products containing fullerenes as being for sale throughout the United States. Zelens Fullerene C60 Day Cream, which is no longer on sale in the UK, is sold in Asia, where it will be replaced by another range of Zelens products early next year.
The Day Cream cost £135 for 30 ml.
Tony Ryan questioned the safety of carbon nanoparticles in cosmetics.
"I wouldn’t put buckyballs anywhere near my face," he said.
"We need to understand more about the toxicology. One of the potential dangers with carbon nanotubes is: are we creating a new asbestos? The asbestosis response is based on the shape of the particle. Part of the issue is in the shape of the molecule and how they're introduced. We just need to be careful about the risk versus the benefit," he said.
The Zelens website says that its formulas "have been extensively tested at the most prestigious international university laboratories."
"Carbon buckyballs have been shown to cause brain damage to fish. There are hundreds of nano-enhanced products on the market right now and some of them have never been properly tested," said Aleksandra Kordecka, of Friends of the Earth Europe.
The UK has been criticised for not doing enough toxicology testing on nanomaterials.
A report earlier this year from the prestigious Council for Science and Technology concluded that the government "had not provided sufficient support for research into the toxicology and health and environmental effects of nanomaterials."
According to the Medical Research Council, the problem is not lack of funds for the research, but that proposals have not been forthcoming. The MRC has issued a notice to toxicologists which, it says, "has already elicited interest".
Apart from his concern about carbon molecules, Professor Ryan was upbeat about nanotechnology. He looked forward to cheaper ways of producing electricity from sunlight at room temperature and ambient pressure; drug delivery devices and water purification in developing countries.
"We share the concerns but see lots of environmental and societal benefits," he said.
Referring to Prince Charles’s famous criticism of nanotechnology as "grey goo", he said: "I'm more worried about Prince Charles than about grey goo!"