Nanoparticles are elements whose size is between approximatively 1 and 100 nanometers, 1 nanometer being 1 billion times smaller than a meter. To give an idea: a nanometer is to a meter as the height of a garden gnome is to the distance between the Earth and the Sun!

Those substances are now omnipresent in our daily lives. In France, more than 400,000 tons of them were used in 2013 alone. Cosmetics, packaging, textiles, foodstuffs, medicine and more… all of those fields are now concerned by nanoparticles. Industry sees them as the solution to a wide range of problems, because these miniscule particles (nano-carbon tubes, nano-silver, nano-titanium, nano-zinc, etc.) possess specific and particularly useful physical-chemical properties that larger particles don’t have: they can be found, for instance, in 'self-cleaning' glass, 'dirt-resistant' cement, some anti-bacterial surfaces and many ultra-resistant or ultra-light materials.

Yet these particles generate legitimate concerns; while their uses are obvious, more and more voices are being raised, demanding a closer look at the possible risks to consumers and to the environment: once they are loose in our organisms, they could have toxic effects on our health. So are they really a good idea? Should we distrust them? Common sense and the principle of precaution would suggest preventing the marketing of untested products, and, at the very least, limiting their use to only the most vital products.

Cosmetics, packaging, textiles, foodstuffs, medicine and more…, nanoparticles are now omnipresent in our daily lives. Industry has integrated them into many everyday products, because these tiny particles possess particular physical-chemical properties (resistance, flexibility, etc.), but without having verified their harmlessness. More and more scientists now believe that they may indeed be dangerous to our health.