Assessing the protection of the nanomaterial workforce

Abstract

Responsible development of any technology, including nanotechnology, requires protecting workers, the first people to be exposed to the products of the technology. In the case of nanotechnology, this is difficult to achieve because in spite of early evidence raising health and safety concerns, there are uncertainties about hazards and risks. The global response to these concerns has been the issuance by authoritative agencies of precautionary guidance to strictly control exposures to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). This commentary summarizes discussions at the “Symposium on the Health Protection of Nanomaterial Workers” held in Rome (25 and 26 February 2015). There scientists and practitioners from 11 countries took stock of what is known about hazards and risks resulting from exposure to ENMs, confirmed that uncertainties still exist, and deliberated on what it would take to conduct a global assessment of how well workers are being protected from potentially harmful exposures.

• Control procedures
• occupational exposure limits
• precautionary guidance
• toxicity

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. Evelyn Kortum (WHO) who presented at the symposium. The authors would also like to thank Candace Tsai, Maurizio Manno, and Michael Riediker for their comments on early drafts of this manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. This work has not been published elsewhere. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations to which they are affiliated.