Nano Inventory Tops 1,000: By The Numbers

Sept. 11, 2009
At its current growth rate nano-enabled consumer products could approach 1,600 over the next two years.

Calls for greater regulation of nanotechnology -- or at least a better understanding of its potential risks -- have been on the rise. The most recent inventory of consumer products containing nanotechnology may indicate why. The latest update to the inventory developed by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) shows the number of nano-enabled consumer products slid past 1,000, a growth rate of 379% since the list launched in 2006. PEN director David Rejeski says the number of products on the inventory could approach 1,600 in the next two years at its current growth rate.

1,015 number of consumer products or product lines on PEN inventory as of Aug. 25, 2009

212 number of consumer products on PEN inventory when it launched in March 2006

540 number of products on inventory from U.S.-based companies, the most from any of the 24 countries represented on the list

60 percentage of products on inventory representing health and fitness items

259 number of products that contain silver nanoparticles, used for their antimicrobial properties

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About the Author

Jill Jusko

Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America. 

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