Informing environmental decision making by combining life cycle assessment and risk analysis

The author briefly looks at how life cycle assessment and risk analysis may offer one way to identify and evaluate the potential impact engineered nanomaterials may have on human health and the environment. Some of the challenges faced in using these assessment tools include the lack of data and vetted analytical tools, but by combining life cycle analysis with risk management and stepping through this analysis – even when we are lacking some of the data – we identify potential impacts early, locate data gaps, and prioritize materials and technologies with best impacts (or least risks) on a broad set of criteria. Rather then this kind of analysis freezing innovation, this type of approach should help us develop tools and analysis methods that inform sound decision making about the responsible development of nanotechnologies.