Risk assessment of products of nanotechnologies
“This Opinion deals with the recent developments in the risk assessment of nanomaterials for both man and the environment. The in-depth characterisation of a manufactured nanomaterial on the basis of its physical-chemical characteristics is essential. Due to the size and material specific temporal e...
| Institution: | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
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| Format: | TEXT |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Brussels
2009
European Commission |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19134582124919527649-Risk-assessment-of-products-of.htm |
| Summary: | “This Opinion deals with the recent developments in the risk assessment of nanomaterials for both man and the environment. The in-depth characterisation of a manufactured nanomaterial on the basis of its physical-chemical characteristics is essential. Due to the size and material specific temporal evolution of some nanomaterials, potentially hazardous nanomaterials need to be characterised both ‘as manufactured’ and in the various possible forms ‘as delivered’ in biological systems, or to a human in a specific application, or to a particular ecosystem of concern. The characterisation ‘as manufactured’ provides information for the material safety data sheet of the product itself. The characterisation ‘as used’ in biological systems is needed as properties of nanomaterials may change considerably, notably the size distribution due to agglomeration/aggregation of the particles. An issue of specific importance is the properties of the nanomaterial as it is actually used in products and to which consumers may be exposed. For the risk assessment the latter characterisation is of highest relevance. Some specific hazards, discussed in the context of risk for human health, have been identified. These include the possibility of some nanoparticles to induce protein fibrillation, the possible pathological effects caused by specific types of carbon nanotubes, the induction of genotoxicity, and size effects in terms of biodistribution. Knowledge is gradually becoming available on the behaviour of manufactured nanoparticles in the environment in terms of the development of possible fate scenarios. For some nanomaterials, toxic effects on environmental organisms have been demonstrated, as well as the potential to transfer across environmental species, indicating a potential for bioaccumulation in species at the end of that part of the food chain. Although for some manufactured nanomaterials adverse effects were observed. they should not be extrapolated to other manufactured nanomaterials. These observations indicate potential hazards which should be taken into consideration in the safety evaluation of manufactured nanomaterials. As there is not yet a generally applicable paradigm for nanomaterial hazard identification, a case by case approach for the risk assessment of nanomaterials is warranted. One of the main limitations in the risk assessment of nanomaterials is the general lack of high quality exposure data both for humans and the environment. A differentiation between background and incidental exposure is generally difficult in real life situations as the methods employed mainly measure the presence of (nano)particles and do not generally discriminate between the different types of particles (manufactured or naturally occurring) that may be present. Currently, the risk assessment procedure for the evaluation of potential risks of nanomaterials is still under development. It can be expected that this will remain so until there is sufficient scientific information available to characterise the possible harmful effects on humans and the environment. Therefore the knowledge on the methodology for both exposure estimations.” |
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| Physical Description: | 71 p. Digital |