Safety in the nanotechnology industry
The project 'Safe nano worker exposure scenarios' (SANOWORK) is focusing on strategies to ensure safer processing lines and to offer product design options with risk management control measures. It is also striving to decrease emission potential and/or human hazard, and to conduct practical risk assessments of nanomaterials (NMs). The aim of the latter is to achieve a reasonable balance between health hazards and exposure data. Aligning with these concepts, five objectives have been identified. These include promoting, developing and implementing design-based risk remediation strategies and integrating these strategies within manufacturing processing lines. Also proposed is implementing exposure assessment methodologies in workplaces and conducting a risk analysis both before and after the new strategies have been applied. The final step is completing a cost/benefit analysis. To date, pristine commercial samples have been collected, classified and modified following a safety-by-design approach. Modified NMs have undergone physico-chemical, biological and exposure testing. A qualitative worker exposure methodology has also been developed. In addition, six processing lines have been implemented at a pilot-scale level. Five companies are evaluating them through exposure measurement and process efficiency determinations. Finally, five risk remediation strategies have been developed. This project has the potential to improve worker and consumer safety by developing safe, practical and cost-effective strategies. Ensuring safety in the nanotechnology industry is a goal shared by the EU and the United States' nano-safety communities.
Keywords
Nanotechnology, quantitative risk assessment, worker exposure, processing lines, product design, risk management control, nanomaterial, health hazard, exposure data, safety-by-design
