Nanoparticle Silver Released into Water from Commercially Available Sock Fabrics

Manufacturers of clothing articles employ nanosilver (n-Ag) as an antimicrobial agent, but the environmental impacts of n-Ag release from commercial products are unknown. The quantity and form of the nanomaterials released from consumer products should be determined to assess the environmental risks...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2008-06, Vol.42 (11), p.4133-4139
Main Authors: Benn, Troy M, Westerhoff, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Anti-Bacterial Agents - analysis
Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry
Applied sciences
Dispersion
Environmental impact
Environmental Monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Laundering
Leaching
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Nanoparticles - analysis
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Nanotechnology
Pollution
Remediation and Control Technologies
Silver
Silver - analysis
Silver - chemistry
Textiles
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry
Water pollution
Water treatment
Water treatment plants
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Summary:Manufacturers of clothing articles employ nanosilver (n-Ag) as an antimicrobial agent, but the environmental impacts of n-Ag release from commercial products are unknown. The quantity and form of the nanomaterials released from consumer products should be determined to assess the environmental risks of nanotechnology. This paper investigates silver released from commercial clothing (socks) into water, and its fate in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Six types of socks contained up to a maximum of 1360 µg-Ag/g-sock and leached as much as 650 µg of silver in 500 mL of distilled water. Microscopy conducted on sock material and wash water revealed the presence of silver particles from 10 to 500 nm in diameter. Physical separation and ion selective electrode (ISE) analyses suggest that both colloidal and ionic silver leach from the socks. Variable leaching rates among sock types suggests that the sock manufacturing process may control the release of silver. The adsorption of the leached silver to WWTP biomass was used to develop a model which predicts that a typical wastewater treatment facility could treat a high concentration of influent silver. However, the high silver concentration may limit the disposal of the biosolids as agricultural fertilizer.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es7032718