Safer-by-design for nanomaterials

Safer-by-design strategies for engineered inorganic and carbonaceous nanomaterials mainly aim at reducing hazard and the release of nanomaterials to the environment. In practice, the focus as to hazard is often on aspects of the overall hazard or specific hazards. Important constraints for safer-by-design are: limited toxicological knowledge, differences between tested nanomaterials and the nanomaterials that organisms or cells are exposed to in the real world, and trade-offs between functionality and safety. Proposed strategies to reduce (aspects of) hazard for nanomaterials include: coating, control of size, doping, grafting, loading, managing shape and crystallinity, reducing the presence of substances at the surface of nanomaterials that contribute to hazard, reduced persistence, and substitution. Isolation of nanomaterials production and processing, in situ synthesis of nanomaterials, enhanced integrity and durability of nanocomposites, design for disassembly of products and efficient recycling of materials may contribute to reducing nanomaterial releases to the environment.