Nanomaterial risks unclear

Researchers at KTH have mapped our current knowledge of the risks and potential of nanomaterial. This has been undertaken as part of a government commission into the use and handling of the material. KTH scientists have mapped the entire lifecycle of nanomaterials from production, to use and waste management.  This process has revealed large gaps in our knowledge. There is a need to know more about how nanomaterials affect health and the environment, and the risks during the various phases of the lifecycle.

Nanomaterials have been met with tremendous interest and high expectations of generating innovations in many areas such as medicine technology, information technology, materials development and environment technology, for example.  At the same time there is growing concern that nanomaterials can also be hazardous to health and the environment.

“In order to be able to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of nanomaterials compared with other products, we need to look at the entire lifecycle,” comments Göran Finnveden, Professor and Vice President for Sustainable Development at KTH and one of the scientists responsible for the study.

Let’s take an example: New types of lithium batteries containing nanomaterial require more energy to manufacture than normal batteries. But, if they are used in vehicles, the energy savings in total over the entire lifecycle are considerably greater because they last so much longer than ordinary batteries.

Another example is nanocellulose that has the advantage of being based on a renewable material. This can be used to manufacture composite materials, which are lighter and stronger than traditional materials manufactured from fossil fuels. However, relatively little is known about the effects of nanocellulose on health and the environment.

“If we are to have safe handling of nanomaterial and are to be able to identify the potential from a lifecycle perspective, more research, better data, and improved analysis methods are needed. We need to know more than we do,” states David Lazarevic, another of the researchers involved in the study.

The KTH report “Livscykelaspekter och nanomaterial” (Lifecycle aspects of nanomaterials) has been used as documentation for the government commission “En nationell handlingsplan för säker användning och hantering av nanomaterial” (A National Action Plan for the Safe Use and Handling of Nanomaterials, Dir 2012:89). Finnveden and Lazarevic, who are responsible for the study, are researchers at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering at KTH.

The scientists believe that society needs to acquire more knowledge on the nanomaterials that are being used, the applications and products they are used in, the quantities, and emissions when used.
 

KTH scientists have identified among others the following as the way forward:                         

1. Methods for characterisation of nanoparticles.
2. Information in which users can have confidence. Labelling and other information must be designed so that users in companies, organisations, authorities and consumers can make their own decisions.
3. Greater knowledge of the quantities of nanomaterials used in society, their applications and their forms.
4. Improved knowledge of emissions from nanomaterials during use, during waste management and production of nanomaterials.
5. Measurements: Examples of measurements include exposure in the work place, exposure of consumers, flows in water purification plants, flows in recycling processes and other waste management processes.
6. Models for exposure analyses need further development and adaptation to nanoparticles.
7. Methods for environmental impact assessment in lifecycle analyses need further development and adaptation to nanoparticles.
8. Lifecycle data for nanomaterials: Lifecycle analyses are only as good as their databases; in the last decades these have been developed for traditional materials and production processes. There are however large deficits with regard to nanomaterials. Lifecycle data are necessary if we are to be able to evaluate the potential advantages and disadvantages from a lifecycle perspective.
9. Methods for compiling lifecycle data for new technologies: Nanotechnology is an area undergoing rapid development. This also applies to production processes and their environmental performance.
10. Collaboration between industry, authorities and research. In addition, international collaboration but with a Swedish perspective.

Read the report 

What are nanomaterials?

Nanomaterials can be defined in a number of ways, but common to most definitions is that these are materials that contain particles with dimensions ranging from 1 to 100 nanometres (nm). The particles can be present in solids, on a solid surface, in solution in fluids, or in air.

Jenny Äxell

For more information contact:

Göran Finnveden 08-790 73 18 or goran.finnveden@abe.kth.se

David Lazarevic on dalaz@kth.se