Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials

10 Oct 2017 03:25 PM

The unique properties of engineered nanomaterials are beneficial to a range of industries. However, uncertainties in assessing their potential health and environmental risks could hinder their safe use. This POSTnote summarises the current regulation of nanomaterials and highlights potential future directions for regulatory testing approaches.

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Graphic of Nanotube

'Nanomaterials' generally refers to materials containing a significant proportion of particles with at least one dimension between 1-100 nm (a nanometre is one-billionth of a metre), which is about a thousandth of the width of human hair. Nanoscale materials can include nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanofilms. However, the regulatory definition is still being debated.

The unique properties of engineered nanomaterials are beneficial to a range of industries; their applications are wide ranging and increasing, with over 1,800 known products already on the market containing engineered nanomaterials. 

Key points in this POSTnote include:

Acknowledgements

POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:

*Denotes people who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.