Tools Needed to Study Nanotech Safety

By the year 2014, as many as 10 million people will work in nanotechnology-related jobs. But while the science of nanotech plunges ahead, the systems needed to measure nano-risks, such as those posed by inhaling tiny particles, lag behind.

Part of the difficulty in setting these systems up lies in the tendency of nanomaterials to follow different physical laws than larger materials. A nano-scale particle of silver, for example, poses different threats than larger, still-microscopic silver particles.

A new paper, co-written by Andrew Maynard of the Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, discusses the challenge of nano-scale safety:

"What our analysis shows is that in the complex new 'nano world' there is no single or simple method for monitoring nanoaerosol exposures in order to assess and manage potential health effects," Aitken explained. "There are instruments that present partial solutions to the measurement challenges we face. But at the end of the day, we lack the tools and devices that are sophisticated, cost-effective and fast enough to do the job."

Maynard and Aitken conclude that current approaches of measuring the number of particles in a volume of air, surface areas, and mass concentration, will all be useful to some degree. However, further research is needed to identify which is most important for specific nanomaterials and which measurement methods are most effective.

The authors advocate developing a new "universal aerosol monitor" capable of providing detailed information on the nature of airborne engineered nanomaterials to which people are exposed.

New methods and tools needed to measure exposure to airborne nanomaterials [press release]

Image: Environmental Health Perspectives