KEYNOTE Engineered nano-particles: What do we know about risks to environment and health?

Engineered nano-particles (ENP) are have applications in industrial domestic and other sectors. Significant benefits are claimed for their use however there are concerns regarding potential for unwanted impacts on human health... [ view full abstract ]

Engineered nano-particles (ENP) are have applications in industrial domestic and other sectors. Significant benefits are claimed for their use however there are concerns regarding potential for unwanted impacts on human health and the environment. It is difficult to evaluate the potential risk because there is so little data on which to base a risk assessment. Although there is a online database (http://www.nanotechproject.org/cpi/) documenting more than 1600 nanotechnology based consumer products this may not be comprehensive and the total quantity of each ENP’s is uncertain. Thus it is difficult to predict likely environmental discharges. There is inadequate data on persistence/transformation in the environment and such parameters are likely to vary with the nature of the ENP and its application. There is no consensus regarding optimal methods for detection of ENP’s in the environment therefore we cannot consistently measure the extent to which they are distributed in aquatic and other environments and to what extent they persist or undergo transformation. The potential ecotoxicology and health impacts of ENP’s is largely unknown. An understanding of the ecological and health effects of ENP’s must seek to unravel impact related to the material of which the ENP is made (e.g. silver) and any modification (enhanced or reduced) of the effects of the substance related to the engineered structure. The available data on ENPs in the environment was reviewed and is presented in the context of a the DeTER project which seeks to contribute to these questions in the first instance in relation to silver ENP’s.