Application of a Pilot Control Banding Tool for Risk Level Assessment and Control of Nanoparticle Exposures
Open Access
- 16 July 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Annals of Occupational Hygiene
- Vol. 52 (6), 419-428
- https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/men041
Abstract
Control banding (CB) strategies offer simplified solutions for controlling worker exposures to constituents that are found in the workplace in the absence of firm toxicological and exposure data. These strategies may be particularly useful in nanotechnology applications, considering the overwhelming level of uncertainty over what nanomaterials and nanotechnologies present as potential work-related health risks, what about these materials might lead to adverse toxicological activity, how risk related to these might be assessed and how to manage these issues in the absence of this information. This study introduces a pilot CB tool or ‘CB Nanotool’ that was developed specifically for characterizing the health aspects of working with engineered nanoparticles and determining the level of risk and associated controls for five ongoing nanotechnology-related operations being conducted at two Department of Energy research laboratories. Based on the application of the CB Nanotool, four of the five operations evaluated in this study were found to have implemented controls consistent with what was recommended by the CB Nanotool, with one operation even exceeding the required controls for that activity. The one remaining operation was determined to require an upgrade in controls. By developing this dynamic CB Nanotool within the realm of the scientific information available, this application of CB appears to be a useful approach for assessing the risk of nanomaterial operations, providing recommendations for appropriate engineering controls and facilitating the allocation of resources to the activities that most need them.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Occupational Risk Management of Engineered NanoparticlesJournal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2008
- Nanotechnology: The Next Big Thing, or Much Ado about Nothing?Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 2006
- Airborne Nanostructured Particles and Occupational HealthJournal of Nanoparticle Research, 2005
- Pulmonary Toxicity of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes in Mice 7 and 90 Days After Intratracheal InstillationToxicological Sciences, 2003
- European Experiences in the Development of Approaches for the Successful Control of Workplace Health RisksAnnals of Occupational Hygiene, 2003
- Developing COSHH Essentials: Dermal Exposure, Personal Protective Equipment and First AidAnnals of Occupational Hygiene, 2003
- Occupational Hygiene Considerations in the Development of a Structured Approach to Select Chemical Control StrategiesAnnals of Occupational Hygiene, 1998
- Particulates and the Airways: Basic Biological Mechanisms of Pulmonary PathogenicityApplied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 1998
- Ultrafine (nanometre) particle mediated lung injuryJournal of Aerosol Science, 1998
- Correlation between particle size, in vivo particle persistence, and lung injuryEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 1994