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

NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2011
response and no-effect levels to humans and the environment for
after-production life-cycle phases, such as application or use,
recycling, final treatment and disposal, to improve existing risk
assessment (RA) methods applicable to selected ENM.
2 Life cycle assessment and preliminary assessment by applying
leading edge methodology to identify potential environmental
impacts throughout the whole life cycle of a material or product
(from production and application/use to final recycling) and by
further developing prospective and preliminary LCA into
precautionary risk management.
3 Human health and environmental impact assessment by
producing and assessing a set of well-defined ENM that represent
the main properties and stages during their life cycle, by using
critical endpoints, such as the inflammatory reaction as a key event
following exposure to ENM in the lung or the comet assay to
determine genotoxic effects by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)
formation, and DNA damage in cells and animals. Also eco-toxicity
tests are used and adapted, such as the luminescent bacteria
(Vibrio fischeri) and white worm (Enchytraeus sp.) test, to assess
the impact of nanoparticles in aquatic and terrestrial systems and
to elucidate toxicity mechanisms that may arise during
manufacturing, transport, application, recycling and disposal, or
directly from used materials or indirectly via the environment, or
by their accidental release.
4 Exploring technical sustainable solutions by testing the behavior
of selected ENM during end-of-life phases (recycling by
composting, melting), treatment (by incineration) and land-filling,
also to redesign materials and products.
2 Scientific / regulatory / industry needs and
problems addressed
The behavior and properties of nanomaterials can be quite
different to bulk materials, a fact that drives considerable
international research and development activities towards
exploitation, innovation and commercial application, with a
corresponding increase in the number of nanotechnology based
products reaching the end of their life-cycle. At the same time,
there is increasing concern that the beneficial properties of
nanoscale materials and products might also have negative
impacts on human and the environmental health. Although much
research is now going on, we still do not know how exactly
nanoparticles (inter)act in the human body or in the environment,
to what extent they are released or leach from products, or how
they are transported, transformed, or accumulate in living
organisms or environmental systems, like soils or waters, in
particular after their consumption, reuse/recycling, final treatment
and disposal.
Recent toxicological studies show that nanoparticles have
implications on human health inducing, e. g., pulmonary and
systemic inflammation, and translocation to different parts within
the human body, including the brain, after inhalation. However,
reliable data on the (eco-) toxicity of nanomaterials is still scarce,
although first studies prove that there are toxic effects on wildlife
and potential bioaccumulation in various organisms.
The rapidly increasing amount of nanomaterials produced worldwide
raises in particular the question of their final fate when used
in products and released to the environment, and of possible
hazards due to accumulation in animals, plants or the human body.
Nanoparticles may be extremely resistant to degradation and
accumulate in waters or soils, may aggregate or disperse, which
will change their properties compared to single nanoparticles to an
extent we still do not know. Also for this reason, existing
regulation based on mass metrics alone may not be appropriate to
quantify the true exposure to nanoparticles, but needs more
accurate data on nano-specific parameters, like surface area,
degree of dispersion or aggregation, or particle size concentration.
More reliable scientific data is needed on toxicokinetics, exposure
and degradability characteristics of engineered nanoparticles to
better understand where, in which form, and to what extent these
new materials will end up, to develop more accurate impact,
exposure and risk assessment models, and to find efficient ways
for product design that in turn favor their sustainable use, reuse
and recycling and/or safe disposal. Current chemical
characterization and biological test methods are often not
appropriate to generate the data we need to reliably assess risk
and hazard. As a result, there is an urgent need for preliminary
assessment at an early stage of product innovation, and to validate
and further develop current characterization and testing methods
for these new materials in various matrices and compartments,
including reproducible test media to which men and ecosystems
are exposed, as well as cell lines, body fluids or tissues.
The existing regulatory framework (such as REACH) based on mass
(in tons) and concentration metrics may be adequate for areas,
where only small amounts of nanomaterials are used (such as
research laboratories or small-scale manufacturing shops).
However, they may not be applicable for the industrial mass
production of nanomaterials, where particle number and/or shape
could be more critical for their behavior than for the same bulk
chemicals. The applicability of current standardized methods, like
those given in the OECD-Guidelines for measuring and testing of
hazardous substances, needs to be tested and where necessary
adapted or modified, and validated. NanoSustain will in particular
evaluate the extent to which existing regulatory and risk
management strategies and tools can be applied to afterproduction
stages of nanomaterials, in particular to their recycling,
final treatment and disposal.
3 Concept, scope and strategy
NanoSustain is based on the concept of “sustainability” and
“scarce resources”, which means that the use of new innovative
materials, like engineered nanomaterials, must not only consider
human needs today but also of future generations, including all
possible effects occurring along their life-cycle, and should ensure
recyclability and avoidance of dissipative losses of contained
nanomaterials. Both concepts are tested and realized by
characterizing the properties of representative and relevant
nanomaterials and associated products at various stages of their
lifecycle in relation to possible impacts on human health and the
environment, and by taking their reusability/recyclability and/or
ability for safe final treatment and/or disposal, or reintegration into
geological cycles into account as requirement for their sustainable
development.
190 Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster