Assessing the risks of manufactured nanomaterials

The use of nanomaterials in consumer products and manufacturing processes will inevitably lead to their appearance in the environment and in organisms. The article urges for the need to study the potential risks these materials may pose to human health and ecosystems, not only by determining a substance's potential hazards, but also to what degree the material will ever come into contact with a living cell. While this type of risk research is going on, we mus also seriously consider the possible impacts of nano fabrication and the manner in which conventional chemical feedstock and wastes will be handled. After briefly introducing some methods for nanoparticle production, the article summarizes the recent progress made towards providing the data required to assess some of the environmental consequences of an emerging nanomaterials industry.