AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Lessons from the Workplace: Hazards from Exposure to Engineered Nanomaterials
THOMAS PETERS, U of Iowa
Abstract Number: 28 Working Group: Invited by Conference Chair
Abstract Unique exposures may result when raw nanomaterials are produced or handled and when objects that contain nanomaterials are manipulated in the production of commercial products. Exposures in the workplace are often many times higher than those that occur via environmental release or that may be experienced by consumers of products that contain nanomaterials. Professionals trained in the field of industrial hygiene hold the responsibility to assess and mitigate exposures to nanomaterials in the workplace. This job is challenging due to limited health-based occupational exposure limits, exposure equipment that has been designed for more traditional exposures, and control methods that are generally untested for their effectiveness to control nanoparticle exposures. An overview will first be presented to summarize the state-of-the-art in the primary activities central to the practice of industrial hygiene (anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control) in the context of workplaces where nanomaterials are present. Special emphasis will be placed on the advantages and disadvantages of various state-of-the-art methods used to assess exposures to engineered nanomaterials will be presented. A series of case studies will be used to illustrate how these methods can be applied in occupational settings to assess worker exposures. Lastly, a discussion will be presented to help translate the lessons learned from the workplace to more broadly address hazards from engineered nanomaterials in any environment.