Handbook of Nanosafety (eBook)

Measurement, Exposure and Toxicology

Markus Berges, Derk Brouwer, Kai Savolainen, Martie van Tongeren, Ulla Vogel, Qinglan Wu (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2013 | 1. Auflage
376 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-12-416662-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Handbook of Nanosafety: Measurement, Exposure and Toxicology, written by leading international experts in nanosafety, provides a comprehensive understanding of engineered nanomaterials (ENM), current international nanosafety regulation, and how ENM can be safely handled in the workplace. Increasingly, the importance of safety needs to be considered when promoting the use of novel technologies like ENM. With its use of case studies and exposure scenarios, Handbook of Nanosafety demonstrates techniques to assess exposure and risks and how these assessments can be applied to improve workers' safety. Topics covered include the effects of ENM on human health, characterization of ENM, aerosol dynamics and measurement, exposure and risk assessment, and safe handling of ENM. Based on outcomes from the NANODEVICE initiative, this is an essential resource for those who need to apply current nanotoxicological thinking in the workplace and anyone who advises on nanosafety, such as professionals in toxicology, occupational safety and risk assessment. - Multi-authored book, written by leading researchers in the field of nanotoxicology and nanosafety - Features state-of-the-art physical and chemical characterization of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) - Develops strategies for exposure assessment, risk assessment and risk management - Includes practical case studies and exposure scenarios to demonstrate how you can safely use ENM in the workplace

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Chapter 1

General Introduction

Kai Savolainen,    Nanosafety Research Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) will provide remarkable technological and economic benefits for a number of consumer and industrial products in the near future. Therefore, it is not surprising that the nanotechnology industry is expected to grow in an exponential fashion by the end of 2020. This will mean mass production of these valuable materials and their important applications in various sectors of the nanotechnology industry, resulting in great economic expectations associated with these materials and products in the near future. Mass production of ENM will also mean a dramatic increase in workers dealing with ENM and becoming possibly exposed, large numbers of exposed consumers and increased environmental burden due to the likely leaks of these materials from industrial processes. It is hence important to appreciate the importance of the safety of novel ENM and their new applications and understand that it is essential that these materials and products have to be safe to enable successful promotion of nanotechnology for useful applications such as water purification, energy production and soil conservation. A key enabling issue is hence being able to assure the safety of these materials to assure trust and confidence towards these promising technologies.

Keywords

benefits; concerns; exposure; mass production; nanotechnology; safety

The potential of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and nanotechnologies to improve the quality of life, to contribute to economic growth and to sharpen the competitiveness of industry is now widely recognized, not only in Europe, but globally. Nanotechnologies can permit remarkable technological advances and innovations in many industrial sectors including the chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, food and information industries, as well as energy production and consumer items. However, there is an on-going scientific and political debate about the potential risks of ENM and nanotechnologies [1–6]. One must not simply praise the technological benefits; the concepts of safety and health have to be incorporated into all thinking related to the production of engineered nanomaterials and emerging nanomaterials, especially the future generations of engineered nanomaterials [7], the so-called second- (active nanomaterials), third- (self-assembling nanomaterials) and fourth-generation nanomaterials (nano-robots, countless new nanomaterial innovations), which will briefly be mentioned here, although they are largely outside the scope of this discussion.

The EU 2020 strategy defines smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as the principal European 2020 objective. Research and innovation have been identified as the twin drivers of European social and economic prosperity, i.e., capable of generating growth combined with environmental sustainability [8]. Recently, the same issues have been highlighted in several American documents on environmental health and safety strategies [9–11].

The competitiveness of the European industry is the crucial factor in achieving these challenging goals, i.e., the role of innovations and an accelerated pace of the commercialization of innovations have been recognized as being the foundation stones of growth. The recent Communication from the Commission on Horizon 2020 – The Programme for Research and Innovation [12] emphasizes the importance of research and innovation for society at large. The same issues have been stressed in the EU Nanotechnology Action Plan 2005–2009 [1].

These considerations all mean that in the future there will be remarkable changes in the way that the European Commission and the EU Member States evaluate these emerging materials and technologies. The proposal for establishing the new Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020 [13] places the major emphasis on securing a strong position in key enabling technologies (KET) such as information and communication technologies (ICT), nanotechnology, advanced materials, space technology and biotechnology. The document underlines their significance to Europe's competitiveness and its ability to provide the new products and innovative services essential for meeting global challenges. In particular, nanotechnology offers substantial possibilities for improving the competitive position of the EU and for responding to key societal challenges. The need to ensure the safe development and application of nanotechnologies has been included in the broad line of activities of the Horizon 2020 proposal [14]. Over the years (see 15–18) it has become increasingly clear that one cannot have successful nanotechnologies without the parallel assurance that these novel materials are safe and pose no threat to human health or the environment. Hence, both engineered nanomaterials and the nanotechnologies utilizing these materials have to prove their trustworthiness [19,20].

In fact, it is not enough that the new technology applications should be safe in themselves, they should also confer substantial improvements on human health and offer environmental protection. Due to the rapidly increasing production and use of ENM and utilization of nanotechnologies, these safety aspects must be fully understood and addressed. Even though it is unlikely that the size of nanomaterials per se can be viewed as a hazard or pose a threat to human health or the environment [3], their small size does mean that they gain ready access to living organisms, and this raises the question of their biocompatibility [21]. At present, there is scientific uncertainty about the safety of several of these materials. Emphasizing the importance of the safety assessment of the nanosized substances, a facet raised not only by the European Commission and several EU Member States, but also by authorities outside Europe, e.g., in the US [10,11,22]. It is recognized that the safety of the manufacturing processes, as well as the technologies and products utilizing engineered nanomaterials, will be crucial if these materials, technologies and products are to be successful.

1.1 Use and Applications of Engineered Nanomaterials

If one wishes to assess the usefulness of the potential benefits of nanotechnologies in the future, then it is important to have a reasonably good understanding of the complexities associated with these novel technologies and materials, especially those related to safety and health. During its exploration and assessment of the protection of human health in the context of engineered nanomaterial and nanotechnologies, this book also considers their impact on the environment. There is an urgent need for finding reliable ways to predict the potential health and environmental hazards of these technologies and materials; only in this way can the safety of engineered nanomaterials and their nanotechnology applications be assured. Engineered nanomaterials and their nanotechnology applications offer huge benefits and potential for the future both in terms of scientific and technological progress and economic expectations, but these materials and technologies have to be proved to be safe; there has to be a guarantee that the various stakeholders can rely on the safety of these materials and technologies, especially when one considers the wide range of applications where they will be used, e.g., consumer products, manufacturing and industrial processes [23]. Assuring the safe use of engineered nanomaterials and nanotechnologies is an integral part, not only of risk management, but also of the risk governance, of these materials and technologies. This needs to be done in such a way that the legitimate interests of various stakeholders in society are taken into account, i.e., from the manufacturer on to the consumer and ultimately to the environment [24].

To date, the number of consumer products containing engineered nanotechnologies according to producers exceeds several thousands [23], and the annual turnover of goods incorporating engineered nanomaterials has been predicted to exceed three trillion dollars by 2020. These numbers highlight the predicted economic value of these technologies in the future; see Figure 1.1 for the economic expectations [25].

FIGURE 1.1 The predicted size of the global market of products incorporating engineered nanomaterials. Adapted from Lux Research, 2009 [25].

When one attempts to sketch the value chain of nano-enabled products, as well as the safety and health issues related to the various steps of this chain, then all steps in the life-cycle of the nanotechnologies have to be evaluated. These steps, which will be discussed later in detail, include 1) production, transportation and storage; 2) incorporating engineered nanomaterials into primary products such as powders or polymers; 3) generating secondary products in which the primary products are used; and 4) processes leading to side-products and waste, and incorporation of recycled engineered nanomaterials back into the value chain, thus prolonging the life-cycle of these materials. In all these stages releases may take place and lead to the exposure of humans or the environment, with workers handling these materials being the most likely population to be exposed. The value chain of engineered nanomaterials and the steps at which releases into the environment possibly can take place are depicted in Figure...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.12.2013
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Gesundheitsfachberufe
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Medizinische Fachgebiete ► Arbeits- / Sozial- / Umweltmedizin
• Themenwelt: Studium ► 2. Studienabschnitt (Klinik) ► Pharmakologie / Toxikologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Chemie ► Technische Chemie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• ISBN-10: 0-12-416662-8 / 0124166628
• ISBN-13: 978-0-12-416662-2 / 9780124166622