title: State of the art in human risk assessment of silver compounds in consumer products: a conference report on silver and nanosilver held at the BfR in 2012.
abstract: In light of the broad spectrum of products containing nanosilver, the harmfulness of nanosilver to human health and the environment was intensively discussed at a conference held in February 2012 at the BfR. The conference agenda covered the aspects of analytics of nanosilver materials, human exposure and toxicology as well as effects on microorganisms and the environment. The discussion recovered major gaps related to commonly agreed guidelines for sample preparation and central analytical techniques. In particular, the characterization of the nanoparticles in complex matrices was regarded as a challenge which might become a pitfall for further innovation and application. Historical and anecdotal records of colloidal silver have been sometimes taken as empirical proof for the general low toxicity of nanosilver. Yet as reported herein, a growing number of animal studies following modern performance standards of toxicity testing have been carried out recently revealing well-characterized adverse effects on different routes of exposure in addition to argyria. Furthermore, recent approaches in exposure assessment were reported. However, consumer exposure scenarios are only starting to be developed and reliable exposure data are still rare. It was further widely agreed on the workshop that the use of silver may lead to the selection of silver resistant bacteria. With respect to its environmental behavior, it was suggested that nanosilver released to wastewater may have negligible ecotoxicological effects. Finally, the presentations and discussion on risk assessment and regulation of nanosilver applications gave insights into different approaches of risk assessment of nanomaterials to be performed under the various regulatory frameworks.
authors.affiliation: German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Strasse 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: Jochen Vom
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Brocke
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Epp
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Herzberg
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kneuer
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tentschert
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noll
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Banasiak
authors.forename: Gaby-Fleur
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Böl
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lampen
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luch
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hensel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005062:European Union; D006801:Humans; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000633:toxicity; D049329:Nanostructures; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D018030:Silver Compounds