Nanomaterials and Occupational Safety: An overview

Nanomaterials and products containing such materials are already in widespread use because they exhibit technologically interesting, nano-specific features such as increased tensile strength, improved electrical conductivity, special optical characteristics or special medico-chemical properties. Nonetheless, the same features that make these substances so interesting technologically potentially harbor risks for those persons who handle them. This is because small particle size, coupled with increased reactivity due to special surface features, determines their biological activity and therefore toxicity. The increasing applications are exposing ever more employees – especially those working in research laboratories or in industrial production and processing – to nanosubstances. This makes occupational safety a major issue from a regulatory standpoint. Based on the available literature on occupational safety, the following nanomaterial-relevant topics have been identifi ed: health risks, adaptation of detection and measurement methods, actual exposure scenarios at the workplace, defi nition and compilation of existing worksites for nanomaterials, recommendations for worker safety by the authorities and by industry, as well as preventive occupational medical care.