Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet

NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2012
results; 4) Creation of an EU laboratory service; 5) Tools and data
to inform EU Regulation; 6) Risk assessment procedures.
2 Background – The ENNSATOX Project
2.1 Introduction, Scientific / Industry Needs &
Problem Addressed
Nanomaterials are becoming increasingly important in their
applications and uses in many industries, consumer products and
healthcare (The Nanotech Report, 6 th Edition, Lux Inc, New York,
2008). Current worldwide sales of products incorporating
nanomaterials are €1.1 trillion and are expected to rise to €4.1
trillion by 2015. Engineered nanoparticles represent a major part of
this growth. However an understanding of their toxicological
properties has not kept pace with the exponential rate of increase
of research into their synthesis, characterisation and applications.
Research into their behaviour, impact and fate in aquatic
environments is at a very early stage. Out of 14 funded FP5/FP6
nanotoxicology projects only one is dedicated fully to this area
(“EU Nanotechnology R&D in Health and Environmental Impact of
Nanoparticles” http://cordis.europa.eu/nanotechnology/home.html
report, Jan 2008). This report details the member states with the
largest number of nanotoxicity research projects as follows: UK
(46), Switzerland (24) and Denmark (12) of which the numbers
dedicated to the fate of nanoparticles and their impact in the
aquatic environment are UK (6), Switzerland (2) and Denmark (1)
respectively. The majority of risk studies are concentrated on
airborne particulates. A similar situation is also seen in the recently
updated US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategy for
Nanotech-related Research for the Environment, Health and Safety
Research, Feb 2008 http://www.nano.gov/NNI EHS Research
Strategy.pdf where the focus for aquatic environmental research is
into environmental transport mechanisms and standardisation of
nanoparticles rather than their ecotoxicological effects.
The toxic effects of nanomaterials are poorly understood and their
effects on aquatic wildlife are largely unknown. In the absence of
such basic toxicological information, it is difficult to set
environmental quality standards or perform risk assessments for
these materials. As a result two EU Member States have recently
recommended a voluntary moratorium on the release of
engineered nanoparticles into the environment backed by a
voluntary reporting system. These Member States are Germany
(Nanotechnology: Health and Environmental Risk of Nanoparticles,
Joint Working Party Report, Aug 2006, http://www.baua.de/nn
49456/en/Topics-from-A-to-Z/Hazardous-
Substances/Nanotechnology/pdf/draft-research-strategy.pdf and
the UK (Council for Science & Technology Review of Government
Progress of its Action Plan for Nanoscience and Technology, March
2007, http://www.baua.de/nn 49456/en/Topics-from-A-to-
Z/Hazardous-Substances/Nanotechnology/pdf/draft-researchstrategy.pdf),
to be administered by the Department of
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). On 17 th January 2008
the UK’s Soil Association, the national organic food certification
body, issued a complete moratorium on the use of engineered
nanoparticles for organic food production
(http://www.soilassociation.org). More recently, Poland et al. (20 th
May 2008), described important findings relating the dimensional
characteristics of carbon nanotube and inorganic fibres to the
inability of macrophages to prevent mesothelioma risks in rat
lungs. http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v3/n7/abs/
nnano.2008.111.html.
ENNSATOX addresses this crucial uncertainty by seeking to relate
the structure and functionality of a well known class of
nanoparticles of varying morphology to its biological activity at
successive levels of molecular, cellular and organism organisation.
Its research will focus in particular on the impact of nanoparticles
on these biological systems in aqueous environments with
relevance to the interpretation of their effects on ecosystems. The
work programmes will examine the importance of the biological
membrane in the toxicology and bioaccumulation of nanoparticles
in aquatic organisms. The study will thus operate at a series of
levels and will take into account not only the responses of the
individual organism to the specific agent but also relate this to the
mechanism of activity of the agent. This goal will be achieved by
engaging in a multidisciplinary approach and integrating the results
in a multi component model. In so doing it will fill an important
knowledge gap and inform the EU’s code of conduct for responsible
nanosciences and nanotechnologies research,
ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/nanotechnology/docs/nanocoderecommendation-pe0894c08424
en.pdf for the purpose of future
regulation by the EU (REACH Directive) and Member states.
The underlying concept of the proposed research is to address the
current uncertainty of nanoparticle toxicity and environmental
impact using an integrated multidisciplinary approach
The philosophy of ENNSATOX’s work plan is to initially produce
and thoroughly characterise different morphologies and sizes of a
model nanoparticle, such as zinc oxide (ZnO), using the most
advanced state-of-the-art methods in physical chemistry and
microscopy. This will be extended to additional classes of
nanoparticles in particular silicon dioxide (SiO 2) and titanium
dioxide (TiO 2). At the same time the programme will look at the
nanoparticles' activity towards a series of biological models of
increasing complexity and organisation. Next, the behaviour of the
nanoparticles in environmentally relevant aquatic systems will be
examined see whether the environment alters the chemical and/or
structural nature of these particles. Throughout the study an
integrative model will be used to plan the activities and at the end
of the programme, a predictive mathematical model will be
developed incorporating all of the elucidated parameters.
The hypothesis is:
The biological activity and environmental impact of nanoparticles is
directly dependent on their structure and functionality. By
evaluating these relationships we can develop predictive models
which can be deployed for statutory controls of nanoparticle use.
Toxicity assays will be performed using in vitro models of cell and
tissue culture and in vivo models of several different aquatic
species of key indicator organisms. As part of this proposal, all the
procedures for toxicity testing will be selectively developed and
optimised for nanoparticles. This means that streamlined protocols
for nanoparticle toxicity testing will be formulated which can later
be exploited as routine tests for nanomaterials.
4 Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster