Objective
Due to their unique properties, engineered nanoparticles (ENP) are now used for a myriad of novel applications with great economic and technological importance. However, some of these properties, especially their surface reactivity, have raised health concerns, which have prompted scientists, regulators, and industry to seek consensus protocols for the safe production and use of the different forms of ENP. There is currently a shortage of field-worthy, cost-effective ways - especially in real time - for reliable assessment of exposure levels to ENP in workplace air. In addition to the problems with the size distribution, a major uncertainty in the safety assessment of airborne ENP arises from the lack of knowledge of their physical and chemical properties, and the levels of exposure. A special challenge of ENP monitoring is to separate ubiquitous background nanoparticles from different sources from the ENP. Here the main project goal is to develop innovative concepts and reliable methods for characterizing ENP in workplace air with novel, portable and easy-to-use devices suitable for workplaces. Additional research objectives are (1) identification of relevant physico-chemical properties and metrics of airborne ENP; establishment of reference materials; (2) exploring the association between physico-chemical and toxicological properties of ENP; (3) analyzing industrial processes as a source of ENP in workplace air; (4) developing methods for calibration and testing of the novel devices in real and simulated exposure situations; and (5) dissemination of the research results to promote the safe use of ENP through guidance, standards and education, implementing of safety objectives in ENP production and handling, and promotion of safety related collaborations through an international nanosafety platform.
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-NMP-2007-LARGE-1
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
CP-IP - Large-scale integrating projectCoordinator
00250 Helsinki
Finland
Participants (25)
02150 Espoo
SE1 9HS London
2595 DA Den Haag
76131 Karlsruhe
47229 Duisburg
53757 Sankt Augustin
75014 Paris Cedex 14
2100 Kobenhavn
10691 Stockholm
83404 Ainring
33700 Tampere
CT5 4EY Whitstable
52068 Aachen
1363 Hovik
44149 Dortmund
33720 Tampere
00701 Warsaw
70211 Kuopio
2800 Kgs Lyngby
67063 Ludwigshafen Am Rhein
80686 Munchen
69115 Heidelberg
EH14 4AP Edinburgh
70178 Stuttgart
22100 Lund