As a general health based precautionary value, the Commission and UBA consider a maximum yearly average value of 0.1 μg/l for the sum of all PFCs as appropriate. The dispersion of PFCs by air takes place over socalled volatile precursor compounds that are discharged from consumer products and transforms in the environment and in the human body into stable PFCs such as PFOA, for example. UBA is currently evaluating which precursor might contribute to human and environmental exposure and to which extent consumer products are contaminated with PFCs. One UBA study tracks the path of PFCs from consumer products into the environment and from there to humans. For PFOA there is no legal measure in place to date for risk reduction. UBA is working to identify PFOA as a substance of very high concern according to the REACH regulation and subsequently propose a Europe-wide restriction of manufacturing and use of PFOA and relevant precursors. UBA recommends to consumers before purchasing home textiles and fitted carpets to consider whether or not a water and dirt repellent coating with PFCs is absolutely necessary. Nanomaterials Nanomaterials have existed already for many years in products used in daily life. Because of their special properties (see box on page 60), a great hope is placed on novel developments with nanomaterials. Nanoscale materials are used for example in paints and self-cleaning surfaces. Nanomaterials provide automobile tires with improved handling characteristics. Hospitals can benefit from the antibacterial effect of certain nanomaterials in surface sealing, and nanomaterials offer an effective UV protection in suntan creams. However, the interesting new properties of nanomaterials not only offer opportunities for novel developments, they are also suspected to be harmful to humans and the environment. Because of their small size, they can overcome biological barriers, for example the air-blood barrier in the lungs or in the cell membranes and could be transported from there to other organs. In the lungs, na-
noparticles can elicit inflammation and can even cause tumours. From today’s state of knowledge, not all nanoparticles are associated with such risks. A differentiated examination of risks and benefits from nanomaterials is therefore required. The discussion on the risks and benefits of nanotechnology has noticeably increased in recent years in expert groups as well as among the public. The Federal Government reacted early with the nomination of a NanoKommission, by which recommendations for the responsible handling of nanomaterials are being developed. The experts of UBA are just as involved as those of other national and international research groups, in particular the “Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials” (WPMN) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the test programme (the sponsorship programme) of the WPMN, there are substance dossiers, among others, compiled for 13 marketrelevant nanomaterials and existing gaps in research are bridged through financing by the participating states. To date there is only inadequate transparency for consumers and authorities on the use of nanomaterials in consumer products. UBA therefore recommended a registry for nanomaterials in the form of a product directory [6]. In September 2010, the Belgian EU Council Presidency also spoke out in favour of an EU registry for nanomaterials.
Textile fibres coated with silver nanoparticles as antibacterial protection 59