Nanoparticle Usage and Protection Measures in the Manufacturing Industry—A Representative Survey

Abstract

Addressing the risks of nanoparticles requires knowledge about release into the environment and occupational exposure. However, such information currently is not systematically collected; therefore, this risk assessment lacks quantitative data. The goal was to evaluate the current level of nanoparticle usage in Swiss industry as well as health, safety, and environmental measures, and the number of potentially exposed workers. A representative, stratified mail survey was conducted among 1626 clients of the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA), which insures 80,000 manufacturing firms, representing 84% of all Swiss manufacturing companies (947 companies answered the survey for a 58.3% response rate). The extrapolation to all Swiss manufacturing companies results in 1309 workers (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1073 to 1545) potentially exposed to nanoparticles in 586 companies (95% CI: 145 to 1027). This corresponds to 0.08% of workers (95% CI: 0.06% to 0.09%) and to 0.6% of companies (95% CI: 0.2% to 1.1%). The industrial chemistry sector showed the highest percentage of companies using nanoparticles (21.2%). Other important sectors also reported nanoparticles. Personal protection equipment was the predominant protection strategy. Only a few applied specific environmental protection measures. This is the first nationwide representative study on nanoparticle use in the manufacturing sector. The information gained can be used for quantitative risk assessment. It can also help policymakers design strategies to support companies developing a safer use of nanomaterial. Noting the current low use of nanoparticles, there is still time to proactively introduce protective methods. If the predicted “nano-revolution” comes true, now is the time to take action.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: a pdf file containing a detailed description of the approach to statistical analyses, English translation of the questionnaire, additional information for Figure 1, and additional information for the SUVA-code.]

Keywords:

• nanoparticle applications
• occupational exposure
• protection means

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank all those in charge in the interviewed companies for their kind responses: Pierre Bady (Centre of Clinical Epidemiology, CepiC) for the statistical support, and Dominique Chouanière (head of research department, Institute for Work and Health) for her comments on the manuscript structure. Financial support was provided by the Swiss Federal Offices for Public Health (FOPH), for Environment (FOEN), State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA), and the French Agency for Occupational and Environmental Health Safety (AFSSET).

Notes

^A Number of companies represented in SUVA.

^B Represented number of worker scovered by SUVA.

^C Number of sent question naires.

^D Companies dealing with nanoparticles.

^E Workers working with nanoparticles or products containing nanoparticles.

^F p-values of a X2 test for zip code (five regions), without correction for multiple comparisons.

^G Gp-values of a two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test for company size (number of workers), without correction for multiple comparisons.

^H Based on average of the other layers.

^I None of the plastic producers/users declared use of carbon black.

^J Overall response rate.

^K Average weighted by layer.