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Elsevier

Assessing Nanoparticle Risks to Human Health

  • 1st Edition - August 5, 2011
  • Newer edition is available
  • Author: Gurumurthy Ramachandran
  • Editor: Gurumurthy Ramachandran
  • Language: English

The book will take a systematic look at nanoparticle risks within the paradigm of risk assessment, consider the limitations of this paradigm in dealing with the extreme… Read more

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Description

The book will take a systematic look at nanoparticle risks within the paradigm of risk assessment, consider the limitations of this paradigm in dealing with the extreme uncertainties regarding many aspects of nanoparticle exposure and toxicity, and suggest new methods for assessing and managing risks in this context. It will consider the occupational environment where the potential for human exposure is the greatest as well as the issues relevant to occupational exposure assessment (e.g., the exposure metric) and the evidence from toxicological and epidemiological studies.

A chapter will be devoted to how conventional risk assessment can be carried out for a candidate nanoparticle (e.g., carbon nanotubes), and the limitations that arise from this approach. We will propose several alternate methods in another chapter including screening assessments and adapting the rich methodological literature on the use of experts for risk assessment. Another chapter will deal with non-occupational populations, their susceptibilities, and life-cycle risk assessments. There will be a chapter on current risk management and regulatory oversight frameworks and their adequacy. This chapter will also include a discussion of U.S. and E.U. approaches to risk assessment, as well as corporate approaches.

Readership

practitioners of risk assessment in corporate and regulatory sectors who are in the position of making decisions about nanoparticle risks in the absence of definitive evidence of their health risks

Table of contents

  • Preface
  • About the Editor
  • About the Contributors
  • Chapter 1. Challenges in Nanoparticle Risk Assessment
    • 1.1. Introduction
    • 1.2. The Nature of the Engineered Nanomaterial Challenge
    • 1.3. The Problem with Definitions
    • 1.4. Principles-Based Problem Formulation for Engineered Nanomaterials
    • 1.5. Applying the Principles to Engineered Nanomaterials
    • 1.6. Looking Forward
  • Chapter 2. Assessing Exposures to Nanomaterials in the Occupational Environment
    • 2.1. Nanotechnology and Nanoparticles
    • 2.2. Exposure Routes
    • 2.3. Measurement of Health-Related Exposure Metrics
    • 2.4. Instrumentation
    • 2.5. Exposure Assessment Strategy
  • Chapter 3. Hazard and Risk Assessment of Workplace Exposure to Engineered Nanoparticles
    • 3.1. Introduction
    • 3.2. Case Study Example: Carbon Nanotubes
    • 3.3. Discussion
    • 3.4. Appendix: Pulmonary Ventilation Rate Calculations
  • Chapter 4. Pulmonary Bioassay Methods for Evaluating Hazards Following Exposures to Nanoscale or Fine Particulate Materials
    • 4.1. Introduction and General Background
    • 4.2. What Is Postulated About the Lung Hazards of Nanoparticle Exposures
    • 4.3. Species Differences in Lung Responses to Inhaled Fine and/or Ultrafine TiO2 Particles
    • 4.4. Pulmonary Bioassay Studies
  • Chapter 5. Using Expert Judgment for Risk Assessment
    • 5.1. Uncertainties in Risk Assessment
    • 5.2. Limitations of Existing Methodologies for Risk Assessment and Precedents for Using Expert Judgment
    • 5.3. Eliciting Expert Judgment – Selection of Experts, Elicitation Protocols and Best Practices
    • 5.4. Arriving at Consensus Risk Estimates
    • 5.5. The Use of Expert Judgment for Nanoparticle Risks
    • 5.6. Conclusions
  • Chapter 6. Risk Assessment Using Control Banding
    • 6.1. Introduction
    • 6.2. Challenges Related to the Traditional Industrial Hygiene Approach
    • 6.3. CB Nanotool
    • 6.4. Evaluation of the CB Nanotool
    • 6.5. Considerations for the Nanotechnology Industry
    • 6.6. Conclusion
  • Chapter 7. Controlling Nanoparticle Exposures
    • 7.1. Introduction
    • 7.2. The Hierarchy of Control
    • 7.3. Criteria for Prioritizing Control Options
    • 7.4. Form of Nanomaterials
    • 7.5. Local Exhaust Ventilation
    • 7.6. Air Pollution Control Devices
    • 7.7. Work Practices
    • 7.8. Personal Protective Equipment
    • 7.9. Summary and Recommendations
  • Chapter 8. Addressing the Risks of Nanomaterials under United States and European Union Regulatory Frameworks for Chemicals*
    • 8.1. Introduction
    • 8.2. US Chemicals Regulation
    • 8.3. European Union Chemicals Regulation
    • 8.4. Comparative Analysis
    • 8.5. Conclusion
  • Index

Review quotes

"This is a very thought-provoking and knowledgeable book for all those interested in how exposure risks may be assessed and managed, particularly of materials which are so widely used, but the safety of which, so little is known."—BTS Winter 2012

Product details

About the editor

GR

Gurumurthy Ramachandran

Gurumurthy Ramachandran is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA
Affiliations and expertise
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA

About the author

GR

Gurumurthy Ramachandran

Gurumurthy Ramachandran is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA
Affiliations and expertise
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA

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