February 19, 2013

Factsheet:

Zinc oxide
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a white solid inorganic powder, non-flammable, stable and insoluble in water.
Size can vary between 0.5 and 5m, but typical size is around 1m. Nano zinc oxide is made of
particles that have at least one dimension <= 100nm.
The primary particles tend to strongly bind to form aggregates which further agglomerate in
standard conditions (ambient air).
Occurrence
Zinc oxide occurs in nature as zincite. However, in most cases zinc oxide is
obtained through a technical process from zinc. Zinc is one of the most
abundant elements in the Earths crust.
Applications
Zinc oxide, the most widely used zinc compound, is used in the vulcanisation
of rubber, as well as in ceramics, paints, animal feed and pharmaceuticals,
and numerous other products and processes of our daily life. Zinc oxide is
also added to food products and incorporated in vitamin and mineral
supplements since it is an essential micronutrient, vital for the immune
system and many other biological processes in the human body. It is also
added to fertilizers to correct zinc deficiency in soils.
The nano form of ZnO is typically used in cosmetics, rubber specialty products, and
semiconductors.
Zinc oxide is used in powders, creams and ointments, and its capability of
blocking UVA and UVB rays makes it an indispensable ingredient in
sunscreens.
Safety
Zinc is a natural component and an inherent part of the environment. Exposure to natural
background levels of zinc in the biosphere is essential for all living organisms. Zinc fulfills
important metabolic functions in humans, animals and plants. Zinc oxide is recognized as a
valuable nutritional additive and is widely used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical
applications.
Although zinc oxide is generally recognized as safe, the inhaling of zinc oxide dust and fumes is
to be avoided. Regulations are in place to control potential exposure scenarios.
Use scenarios

Occupational exposure: Workers at zinc oxide manufacturing plants and downstream

users can be exposed to ZnO dust. Protection measures including engineering controls
and personal protective equipment are applied for exposure control and worker risk
mitigation in accordance with existing regulations.

Consumer exposure: Consumer exposure to ZnO dust by inhalation is presumed to be

very low because it is typically incorporated into a product matrix where it is tightly
bound, such as in paints or plastics. Oral intake as occurs in the case of food and

Chemistry making a world of difference

European Chemical Industry Council Cefic aisbl
Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4 B - 1160 Brussels Belgium Tel: +32 2 676 72 11 Fax: +32 2 676 73 01 mail@cefic.be www.cefic.org

pharmaceuticals, and exposure by skin contact in cosmetics applications do not pose

any risk.

Zinc in the environment: The environmental impact of zinc and of all essential elements
cannot be assessed in the same way as man-made chemical compounds. Zinc occurs
naturally in soil, sediment, water and air, from where it is taken up by organisms to fulfill
essential functions in metabolism.

Elevated levels of zinc in the environment can occur because of various man-made activities.
Sources of emissions include municipal and industrial effluents, mining activities, and geology
and diffuse sources (unintentional sources that are not directly connected with zinc production or
manufacturing).
An extensive risk assessment of zinc in Europe concluded that the current uses of zinc and zinc
compounds do not [by themselves] lead to the elevated regional levels found in surface water
and sediment1. The distribution, transport and effects (bioavailability) of zinc in water, sediment
and soil depend largely on the site-specific physico-chemical characteristics of the environment
and an organisms condition (e.g. age, size, prior history of exposure, etc.). For these reasons,
environmental assessment of zinc must take these factors into account to be meaningful.
Studies conducted under the Prospect project2 have demonstrated that the nano-form of zinc
oxide has the same environmental profile as the bulk form of zinc oxide.
Safety assessment of nano-sized zinc oxide:
Nano-sized zinc oxide has been used for over twenty years in various applications, mainly as a
UV blocker in sunscreens. When the interest in nanotechnology started in the late 1990s,
concerns were raised about the safety of nano-sized materials in general as well as for zinc
oxide in particular. Due to the existing application in sunscreens and cosmetics, the main
concern was possible penetration of small particles into the skin.
Several years and many scientific studies later, it has been demonstrated that nano-sized zinc
oxide does not penetrate the skin and does not pose a health risk and that it is very similar in
terms of toxicological properties compared to regular zinc oxide (i.e. bulk form).
A recent comparative study by Cosmetics Europe3, which intended to simulate the
consequences of systemic exposure to zinc oxide as coated or uncoated nanoparticles, as a
pigment or as zinc sulphate, demonstrated that no adverse or persistent effects and hence no
nano-specific effects were observed, even after injection into the blood stream. The toxicological
profile of this material does not give rise to concern in human use, since the substance is not
absorbed through the skin.
A study by the Fraunhofer Institute4 on safety testing and assessment of nanomaterials found no
long-term effects on human health. All inhaled (nano and non-nano) ZnO was completely
removed from the lungs by the body.
The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety recently published an opinion5 that concluded, on
the basis of available evidence, that the use of ZnO nanoparticles at a concentration up to 25%
as a UV-filter in sunscreens can be considered not to pose a risk of adverse effects in humans
after dermal application.
Contact: Maria Ruiz-Cuevas, Cefic, mcu@cefic.be

2008/C 155/01
PROSPEcT Project (PROSPEcT: Ecotoxicology Test Protocols for Representative Nanomaterials in Support of the OECD Sponsorship Programme)
3
Karsten Schilling, Bobbie Bradford, Dominique Castelli, Eric Dufour, J. Frank Nash, Wolfgang Pape, Stefan Schulte, Ian Tooley, Jeroen van den
Bosch and Florian Schellauf. Human safety review of nano titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2010, 9, 495509
4
See www.cefic-lri.org, project N1-FRAU: Tiered Approach to Testing and Assessment of Nanomaterial Safety to Human Health
5
SCCS/1489/12 opinion on zinc oxide nanoform - COLIPA S 76
2