Shatkin Jo Anne, Hornyak Gabor L. (series ed.) Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Risks

Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2008, 194 p.

Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Series Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Author
Contributors
1 Introduction: Assessing Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Risks
2 Defining Risk Assessment and How It Is Used for Environmental Protection, and Its Potential Role for Managing Nanotechnology Risks
3 Sustainable Nanotechnology Development Using Risk Assessment and Applying Life Cycle Thinking
4 The State of the Science — Human Health, Toxicology, and Nanotechnological Risk
5 The State of the Science — Environmental Risks
6 NANO LCRA — An Adaptive Screening-Level Life Cycle
Risk Assessment Framework for Nanotechnology
7 Alteative Approaches for Life Cycle Risk Assessment for Nanotechnology and Comprehensive Environmental Assessment
Contents
8 Current and Proposed Approaches for Managing Risks in Occupational Environments
9 Ongoing Inteational Efforts to Address Risk Issues for Nanotechnology
Index


Preface

Technology is a powerful force of change in our world. We live longer and arguably better lives than our great-great-grandparents because of advances in medical, communication, and transportation technology. As we enter this new century there is apparently no end in sight for the transformative potential of human innovation. However, there is now ample evidence that the real legacy of invention is defined in equal parts by its benefits to society as well as its costs. There is no technology that comes without some level of risk. What this can or should mean for the process of creating and nurturing emerging technology remains a central question for all of society, one which this book explores for the emerging area of nanotechnology.
The term ‘nanotechnology’ encompasses a dizzying array of individual technologies, integrated into products in virtually every industry we can define. Nanotechnology can be found in humble products like antibacterial fabrics, as well as in the memory and computing elements of the latest highend computers. What links these very different applications is their reliance on materials that are designed and shaped with nanometer scale precision. These systems can possess very special chemical, optical, and magnetic properties that motivate their use; their size—from one to one hundred nanometers—can also be a great advantage for engineering design. Some nanoparticles, for example, can mix with and penetrate both solid and liquid
media normally impermeable to larger size particulates. The small size, chemical reactivity, and tunable properties together drive their use across a wide swath of products.
These same features, when considered through the lens of risk assessment, drive a different set of conces about nanomaterial safety. Some unbound nanoparticles are often engineered for persistence, high chemical reactivity, and can be found in a wide set of products and thus a wide set of exposure conditions. It is reasonable, but not yet proven, that given the sheer number of nanoparticle types and possible exposures there exists some potential for
unwanted environmental impacts. The technical data that could prove or disprove this hypothesis are still incomplete, and the best practices for generating such information are just now being clarified. Regulatory policy is still evolving but the early signs in several countries indicate a watchful, but not overly cautious stance. It is in this climate of uncertainty and optimism that nanotechnology is taking its first steps into commercial products.
Whether these steps lead to a sustainable and secure industry depends in large part on how well all stakeholders participate in defining and managing nanotechnology’s risks. Researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and consumers must make difficult decisions about the pace and direction of nanotechnology’s commercialization. They must discuss, disagree, and eventually
find a common path that navigates between innovation and caution. Central to this decision making process is risk assessment. Contributions such as this one provide an updated view of risk assessment and management practices that accounts for the quirks and complexities that are unique to products of nanotechnology. Ultimately, such information can help ensure
that the examination and dialog about nanotechnology’s risks can occur at the highest possible technical level.