Blueprint for a self-sustained European Centre for service provision in safe and sustainable innovation for nanotechnology.

The coming years are expected to bring rapid changes in the nanotechnology regulatory landscape, with the establishment of a new framework for nano-risk governance, in silico approaches for characterisation and risk assessment of nanomaterials, and novel procedures for the early identification and management of nanomaterial risks. In this context, Safe(r)-by-Design (SbD) emerges as a powerful preventive approach to support the development of safe and sustainable (SSbD) nanotechnology-based products and processes throughout the life cycle. This paper summarises the work undertaken to develop a blueprint for the deployment and operation of a permanent European Centre of collaborating laboratories and research organisations supporting safe innovation in nanotechnologies.

Identification of Sources of Endotoxin Exposure as Input for Effective Exposure Control Strategies.

Objective: Aim of the present study is to investigate the levels of endotoxins on product samples from potatoes, onions, and seeds, representing a relevant part of the agro-food industry in the Netherlands, to gather valuable insights in possibilities for exposure control measures early in the process of industrial processing of these products.

Methods: Endotoxin levels on 330 products samples from companies representing the potato, onion, and seed (processing) industry (four potato-packaging companies, five potato-processing companies, five onion-packaging companies, and four seed-processing companies) were assessed using the Limulus Amboecyte Lysate (LAL) assay. As variation in growth conditions (type of soil, growth type) and product characteristics (surface roughness, dustiness, size, species) are assumed to influence the level of endotoxin on products, different types, and growth conditions were considered when collecting the samples.

Evaluation of Decision Rules in a Tiered Assessment of Inhalation Exposure to Nanomaterials.

Tiered or stepwise approaches to assess occupational exposure to nano-objects, and their agglomerates and aggregates have been proposed, which require decision rules (DRs) to move to a next tier, or terminate the assessment. In a desk study the performance of a number of DRs based on the evaluation of results from direct reading instruments was investigated by both statistical simulations and the application of the DRs to real workplace data sets. A statistical model that accounts for autocorrelation patterns in time-series, i.

Occupational dermal exposure to nanoparticles and nano-enabled products: Part 2, exploration of exposure processes and methods of assessment.

Over the past decade, the primary focus of nanotoxicology and nanoenvironmental health and safety efforts has been largely on inhalation exposure to engineered nanomaterials, at the production stage, and much less on considering risks along the life cycle of nano-enabled products. Dermal exposure to nanomaterials and its health impact has been studied to a much lesser extent, and mostly in the context of intentional exposure to nano-enabled products such as in nanomedicine, cosmetics and personal care products. How concerning is dermal exposure to such nanoparticles in the context of occupational exposures? When and how should we measure it? In the first of a series of two papers (Larese Filon et al.

A microsimulation model for the development and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease that is thought to affect over one million people in Great Britain. The main factor contributing to the development of COPD is tobacco smoke. This paper presents a microsimulation model for the development of COPD, incorporating population dynamics and trends in smoking.

Airborne manufactured nano-objects released from commercially available spray products: temporal and spatial influences.

This paper reports a study of the dispersion of manufactured nano-objects (MNOs) through the air, both in time and space, during the use of two commercially available nano-spray products and comparable products without MNOs. The main objective was to identify whether personal exposure can occur at a greater distance than the immediate proximity of the source (>1 m from the source), that is, in the "far field" (bystanders), or at a period after the emission occurred (re-entry). The spray experiments were conducted in an experimental room with well-controlled environmental and ventilation conditions (19.

Stoffenmanager Nano version 1.0: a web-based tool for risk prioritization of airborne manufactured nano objects.

Stoffenmanager Nano (version 1.0) is a risk-banding tool developed for employers and employees to prioritize health risks occurring as a result of exposure to manufactured nano objects (MNOs) for a broad range of worker scenarios and to assist implementation of control measures to reduce exposure levels. In order to prioritize the health risks, the Stoffenmanager Nano combines the available hazard information of a substance with a qualitative estimate of potential for inhalation exposure.

Cost-benefit analysis in occupational health: a comparison of intervention scenarios for occupational asthma and rhinitis among bakery workers.

Objectives: Use of cost-benefit analysis in occupational health increases insight into the intervention strategy that maximises the cost-benefit ratio. This study presents a methodological framework identifying the most important elements of a cost-benefit analysis for occupational health settings. One of the main aims of the methodology is to evaluate cost-benefit ratios for different stakeholders (employers, employees and society).

Conceptual model for assessment of inhalation exposure to manufactured nanoparticles.

As workplace air measurements of manufactured nanoparticles are relatively expensive to conduct, models can be helpful for a first tier assessment of exposure. A conceptual model was developed to give a framework for such models. The basis for the model is an analysis of the fate and underlying mechanisms of nanoparticles emitted by a source during transport to a receptor.

A structured observational method to assess dermal exposure to manufactured nanoparticles DREAM as an initial assessment tool.

Preliminary results of inventories of exposure scenarios for nanomaterials have indicated possible dermal exposure. Within the NANOSH project focused on occupational safety and health aspects of nanotechnology a shortened version of the observational DeRmal Exposure AssessMent (DREAM) method was used as an initial method to assess dermal exposure. A total of 45 tasks (such as bagging, dumping, and cleaning) involving different manufactured nanoparticles (MNPs) such as carbon nanotubes, fumed silica, and cerium oxide, were observed in industrial and research facilities.