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Blog: Benny the Bear comes clean (Safe Nano, 6/28/08) |
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June 28, 2008 |
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Last December I highlighted the case of Benny the Bear—a
soft toy using nano-silver to give it antimicrobial properties. It appeared at
the time that the manufacturer was being rather coy about the use of
nanotechnology, leading to me suggesting: “perhaps it’s time for Benny to come
clean.”
Well, come clean he has. And the revelation: Benny really
is silver-free—uncertainty over risks, regulation and public acceptance led to
the manufacturer to find a non-nano alternative.
In last Friday’s broadcast of Living On Earth—a U.S. weekly
environmental news and information radio program—reporter Jeff Young
interviewed Roy Sharda, a partner in Pure Plushy; the Chicago-based company
that makes Benny. According to Sharda, “We have used nano silver in the
past there's a lot of speculation as to how much nano silver technology is
accepted. Anytime you see controversy you try to sort of avoid it.”
Pure Plushy stopped using nano-silver because there were
just too many questions about the material, how people will respond to its use,
and how the government might regulate it.
So in the “case of the disappearing nanoparticles,” they
really did disappear; to be replaced by a (presumably) more conventional
EPA-approved antimicrobial.
Read the full blog here.
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Last Updated ( July 01, 2008 )
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