Accident Prevention Manual
for Business & Industry:
Engineering & Technology
13th edition
National Safety Council
Compiled by
Dr. S.D. Allen Iske, Associate Professor
University of Central Missouri
CHAPTER 14
NANOPARTICLES
Nanotechnology
• Collection of technologies dealing with materials science
on the nanometer scale.
• Special concerns:
• inhalation hazard for humans
• free unbound nanoparticle and nanofiber materials
• absorption routes into the body (skin, lungs, blood, brain, and other
target organs)
• comprehensive hazard assessment
Historical Perspective
• Nanoparticles are not a new phenomenon.
• Scientists were aware of colloids and sols, for more than
100 years. The scientific investigation of colloids and their
properties was reported by Faraday (1857) in his
experiments with gold. He used the term “divided metals”
to describe the material which he produced.
• Zsigmondy (1905) described the formation of a red gold
sol which is now understood to comprise particles in the
10 nm size range.
Definitions/Sizes
• Nanotechnology involves the creation and/or manipulation
of materials at the nanometer (nm) scale either by scaling
up from single groups of atoms or by refining or reducing
bulk materials.
• A nanometer is 1 x 10-9 m or one millionth of a millimeter.
A human hair is 10,000 to 50,000 nm, a single red blood
cell has a diameter of around 5000 nm, viruses typically
have a maximum dimension of 10 to 100 nm and a DNA
molecule has a diameter of 2–12 nm (www.nano.gov).
Nanomaterials
• Ordinary materials such as carbon or silicon, when
reduced to the nanoscale, often exhibit novel and
unpredictable characteristics:
• extraordinary strength, chemical reactivity, electrical conductivity, or
other characteristics that the same material does not possess at
the micro or macro-scale
• A huge range of materials have already been produced
including nanotubes, nanowires, fullerene derivatives
(bucky balls), and other nanoscale materials.
Categories and Applications
• Nanostructure
• Nanotubes
• Nanowires
• Nanocrystals
• Other nanoparticles
• Example Material or Application
• carbon, (fullerenes)
• metals, semiconductors, oxides,
sulfides, nitrides quantum dots
insulators, semiconductors, metals,
magnetic materials
• ceramic oxides, metals
Current Status
• Limited current knowledge
• Industrial applications growing rapidly
• Professional and regulatory agencies interest and
methods of assessment increasing
• Workplace hazards versus atmospheric emissions for
exposure
Knowledge Gaps
• The nanoparticle nomenclature is not sufficiently well
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described.
There are no convenient methods by which exposures to
nanoparticles in the workplace can be measured or
assessed.
There is insufficient knowledge concerning nanoparticle
exposure.
The effectiveness of control approaches has not been
evaluated.
Knowledge concerning nanoparticle risks is inadequate
for risk assessments.
Use at Worksite
• Occupational exposure control prior to introduction
• Examine toxicity and dose data
Nanomaterials in Workplace
• Investigate and determine physical and chemical
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properties per potential toxicity
Evaluate short and long-term effects on organ systems
Determine biological mechanisms for toxic effects
Create and integrate models in assessing possible
hazards
Determine if mass or other property informs toxicity
impact
Measurement Methods
• Important for accuracy and protective measures
• Evaluate methods of measuring respirable particles in the
air and application to nanomaterials
• Develop and field test practical methods to measure
airborne nanomaterials
• Develop testing and evaluation systems to compare and
validate sampling instruments
Preparing Workplace
• Exposure assessment - worksite and workers for
exposure potentials
• Machine and plant floor
• Cleaning crews
• Finished product testing
• Packaging
• Spray applications
• Particle size and absorption properties
Risk assessment
• Potential exposure to nanomaterials
• Determine current exposure-response data (human or animal) to
identify and assess potential occupational hazards
• Develop framework for evaluating and predicting potential
occupational risk to exposure of nanomaterials
Monitoring Results
• Epidemiology and surveillance—measurements of
consequences of nanomaterials use
• Evaluate existing workplace studies with nanomaterials.
• Identify knowledge gaps of understanding of nanomaterials and
conduct new studies.
• Integrate health and safety issues in existing surveillance methods
and additional screening methods.
• Use existing systems data and information.
Engineering Controls and PPE
• Employers legal duty and practical obligation to utilize
protections—preventing harm to workers
• Control methods
• Ventilation systems, clean rooms, glove box, respiratory protection,
face shields, clothing—minimize air and skin exposures to
nanomaterials to prevent harmful effects
Protection Controls Research
• Evaluate effectiveness of engineering controls in reducing
occupational exposures—nanoparticles or nanoaerosols.
• Evaluate and improve PPE.
• Develop recommendations to prevent or limit exposures
(e.g., respirator fit testing).
• Evaluate control banding techniques, information gaps,
and effectiveness of alternate. methods
Explosion and Fire Risks
• Identify physical and chemical properties that contribute to
dustiness, combustibility, flammability, and conductivity of
nanomaterials.
• Recommend alternative work practices to eliminate or
reduce workplace exposures.
• Develop a disposal protocol reducing potential for harm to
workers in waste-handling systems.
Regulatory Issues
• Agencies to evaluate current regulatory requirements for
nanomaterials for worker protection from exposures:
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)