Suchergebnisse

Abstract

Objectives
Work and research with nanomaterials (NMs) has primarily focused on innovation, toxicity, governance, safety management tools, and public perceptions. The aim of this study was to identify academia and industry occupational safety and health (OSH) managers' perceptions and handling of NMs, in relation to safety culture.


Methods
Semistructured interviews were carried out with OSH managers at six academic institutions and six industrial companies. The interview statements were coded into five topics regarding NMs: risk comprehension, information gathering, actions, communication, and compliance. The statements were then coded according to a five-step safety culture maturity model reflecting increasing occupational safety maturity from passive, to reactive, active, proactive, and exemplary occupational safety.


Results
The safety culture maturity of the academic institutions were primarily active and proactive, whereas the industry group were primarily active and reactive. None of the statements were rated as exemplary, with the majority reflecting an active safety culture. The topics varied from a passive approach of having no focus on NMs and regarding risks as a part of the job, to applying proactive measures in the design, production, application, and waste management phases. Communication and introduction to OSH issues regarding NMs as well as compliance provided challenges in both academia and industry, given the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of students/staff and employees. Workplace leaders played a crucial role in establishing a legitimate approach to working safely with NMs, however, the currently available OSH information for NMs were described as insufficient, impractical, and inaccessible. There was an embedded problem in solely relying on safety data sheets, which were often not nanospecific, as this may have led to underprotection.


Conclusions
There is a need for more structured, up-to-date, easily accessible, and user-friendly tools and information regarding toxicity and threshold limit values, relevant OSH promotion information, legislation, and other rules. The study underscores the need for politicians and engineers to collaborate with communication experts and both natural and social scientists in effectively framing information on NMs. Such a collaboration should allow for flexible deployment of multilevel and integrated safety culture initiatives to support sustainable nanotechnology and operational excellence.

One- and two-box models have been pointed out as useful tools for modelling indoor particle exposure. However, model performance still needs further testing if they are to be implemented as trustworthy tools for exposure assessment. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance, applicability and reproducibility of one- and two-box models on real-world industrial scenarios. A study on filling of seven materials in three filling lines with different levels of energy and mitigation strategies was used. Inhalable and respirable mass concentrations were calculated with one- and two-box models. The continuous drop and rotating drum methods were used for emission rate calculation, and ranges from a one-at-a-time methodology were applied for local exhaust ventilation efficiency and inter-zonal air flows. When using both dustiness methods, large differences were observed for modelled inhalable concentrations but not for respirable, which showed the importance to study the linkage between dustiness and processes. Higher model accuracy (ratio modelled vs. measured concentrations 0.5–5) was obtained for the two- (87%) than the one-box model (53%). Large effects on modelled concentrations were seen when local exhausts ventilation and inter-zonal variations where parametrized in the models. However, a certain degree of variation (10–20%) seems acceptable, as similar conclusions are reached. ; This research was funded by the Spanish MINECO (CGL2015-66777-C2–1-R, 2-R and 679 RTI2018-098095-B-C21) and Danish Government (FFIKA, Focused Research Effort on Chemicals in 680 the Working Environment). Additional support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project CEX2018-000794-S), Generalitat de Catalunya AGAUR 2017 SGR41, and 682 FEDER (European Regional Development Fund) "Una manera de hacer Europa". ; Peer reviewed

Abstract
Risk governance, sustainability and safety-by-design have high attention in current research projects and policy. In the EU H2020 Gov4Nano project, we refined the EU H2020 caLIBRAte phase-gate nano-risk innovation governance framework, its guidance and expanded the list of supporting risk governance tools. Stakeholder wishes were mapped from previous projects and consultations made within Gov4Nano and across the two other EU H2020 NMBP-13 governance projects (NANORIGO and RiskGone) and considered in the refinement. The revised framework considers three pre-defined phase-gate models for minor (fast-track/low risk), intermediate (medium risk) and novel (high-risk) developments. The guidance was further elaborated to direct users though sustainability and safety-by-design considerations and risk mitigation actions. ISO21505 was used as the backbone for the risk governance framework. The approach allows design of the specific nano-risk governance project and information requirements for decision-making. The list of recommended nano-risk governance tools was expanded and selected considering their reliability and performance. An important step in this process was an evaluation of tools made under the umbrella of the OECD (ENV/CBC/MONO(2021)23; ENV/CBC/MONO(2021)27/REV; ENV/CBC/MONO(2021)28; ENV/CBC/MONO(2021)29/REV) and development of a new tool assessment framework called TRAAC (Transparency, Reliability, Accessibility, Applicability and Reliability). Limitations in application domains remains an issue for future developments. The approach and tools are made accessible via a nano-risk governance portal produced by the three NMBP-13 projects (http://nanoriskgov.eu/).
Funding: European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement 814401.

Advanced material development, including at the nanoscale, comprises costly and complex challenges coupled to ensuring human and environmental safety. Governmental agencies regulating safety have announced interest toward acceptance of safety data generated under the collective term New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), as such technologies/approaches offer marked potential to progress the integration of safety testing measures during innovation from idea to product launch of nanomaterials. Divided in overall eight main categories, searchable databases for grouping and read across purposes, exposure assessment and modeling, in silico modeling of physicochemical structure and hazard data, in vitro high-throughput and high-content screening assays, dose-response assessments and modeling, analyses of biological processes and toxicity pathways, kinetics and dose extrapolation, consideration of relevant exposure levels and biomarker endpoints typify such useful NAMs. Their application generally agrees with articulated stakeholder needs for improvement of safety testing procedures. They further fit for inclusion and add value in nanomaterials risk assessment tools. Overall 37 of 50 evaluated NAMs and tiered workflows applying NAMs are recommended for considering safer-by-design innovation, including guidance to the selection of specific NAMs in the eight categories. An innovation funnel enriched with safety methods is ultimately proposed under the central aim of promoting rigorous nanomaterials innovation. ; acceptedVersion ; Peer reviewed