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 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 microg-Ag/g-sock and leached as much as 650 microg 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…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• UE
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• WE
  Water Environment Research Foundation
• WR
  Water Research Foundation
• AS
  Arizona State University
• DO
  Division of Graduate Education