your favorite company may have slipped nano particles into your sunscreen, your cosmetics and all kinds of skin care products and now several groups are asking for the FDA to step in and regulate. Brent Blackwelder with Friends of the Earth, Judy Norsigian of Our Bodies Ourselves, and Andrew Kimbrell over at the International Center for Technology Assessment have banned together calling for better monitoring and labeling of products containing nanoparticles. Why the fuss? Well nanoparticles (the size of a nanometer–tiny to the 10th power) can get into pores, cells, across the brain and beyond. And we just aren’t sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. And shouldn’t our unsuspecting cosmetic purchasers who are alerted that no animal testing was done to make your favorite shade of red lipstick be aware of potential health hazards to themselves too?

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.