Nanotechnology Risk Assessment Case Study Workshops

Abstract

Nanotechnology is expected to present both benefits and risks to human health and the environment. The assessment of risks related to nanotechnology requires information on the potential for exposure to, and adverse effects of, nanomaterials and their by-products. To help ensure that research efforts are efficiently directed toward providing such information, research needs must be identified and prioritized. Toward this end, a series of workshops involving an array of technical experts and stakeholders will be held to examine selected case studies of nanomaterials. Case studies will use a comprehensive approach that encompasses product life cycle (feedstocks, manufacturing, distribution, storage, use, disposal, recycling), multi-media environmental transport/transformation processes, exposure scenarios, and ecological and human health effects, as well as specific risk assessment and risk management issues. Although an initial paucity of data necessitates a more qualitative than quantitative approach, formal techniques will be used to derive expert judgments from invited participants so that a risk-oriented strategy can be produced.