Implications for Regulating Nanomaterial-Containing Wastes: Hazardous Waste or Not?
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 20, Issue 1
Abstract
Engineered nanomaterials have been incorporated into thousands of commercial products that are widely used by consumers and industry. Studies show that nanomaterials can be leached from such products, providing a route of entry into the environment. Toxic effects from nanomaterials may differ significantly based on their structure, functional groups, characteristics of the environmental matrix at the time of exposure, and the transformation of the nanomaterials once released into the environment. Consequently, traditional risk assessment models for conventional chemicals may not apply. Currently, engineered nanomaterials are not regulated as hazardous wastes, but the potential for significant negative human or environmental effects should not be ignored. The authors suggest that existing Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations could be modified to include categories for engineered nanomaterials. Given the ubiquitous nature of nanoenabled products, some regulatory action is required even before complete risk assessments can be determined.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Benn, T., Cavanagh, B., Hristovski, K., Posner, J. D., and Westerhoff, P. (2010). “The release of nanosilver from consumer products used in the home.” J. Environ. Qual., 39(6), 1875–1882.
Benn, T., and Westerhoff, P. (2008). “Nanoparticle silver released into water from commercially available sock fabrics.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 42(11), 4133–4139.
Bystrzejewska-Piotrowska, G., Golimowski, J., and Urban, P. L. (2009). “Nanoparticles: Their potential toxicity, waste and environmental management.” Waste Manage., 29(9), 2587–2595.
Casiraro, N., Bridgers, K., Hristovski, K., Benn, T., and Westerhoff, P. (2010). “Commercial fabrics containing silver nanoparticles: Hazardous waste or not?” 6th Gatekeeper Regulatory Roundup and Conf., Environmental Professionals of Arizona, Phoenix.
Chen, H., Roco, M. C., Son, J., Jiang, S., Larson, C. A., and Gao, Q. (2013). “Global nanotechnology development from 1991 to 2012: Patents, scientific publications, and effect of NSF funding.” J. Nanopart. Res., 15(9), 1951.
Corredor, C., et al. (2013). “Disruption of model cell membranes induced by multiwalled carbon nanotubes.” Carbon, 60, 67–75.
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). (2012). Guidance on the legal definition of waste and its application, London.
El-Badawy, A., Luxton, T., Scheckle, K., Tolaymat, T., and Suidan, M. (2009). “Silver speciation and leachability from silver nanomaterial containing consumer fabric.” 237th ACS National Meeting, American Chemical Society, Salt Lake City, UT.
European Union (EU) Council. (2008). “Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.” Off. J. Eur. Union, L 312, 3–30.
Faust, J. J., Doudrick, K., Yang, Y., Westerhoff, P., and Capco, D. G. (2014). “Food grade titanium dioxide distrupts intestinal brush border microvilli in vitro independent of sedimentation.” Cell Biol. Toxicol., 30(3), 169–188.
Gallagher, P., Gofredi, R. A., Weber, E. J., Severn, W. C., and Kenney, J. C., eds. (2010). McCoy’s RCRA unraveled, McCoy and Associates, Lakewood, CO.
Hristovski, K. D., Westerhoff, P. K., and Posner, J. D. (2010). “Octanol-water distribution of engineered nanomaterials.” J. Environ. Sci. Health Part A, 46(6), 636–647.
Karn, B. (2006). “A proactive environmental perspective on nanotechnology.” Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, Portland, OR.
Krug, H. F., and Wick, P. (2011). “Nanotoxicology: An interdisciplinary challenge angew.” Chem. Int. Ed., 50(6), 1260–1278.
Lem, K. W., et al. (2012). “Waste minimization for the safe use of nanosilver in consumer products—Its impact on the eco-product design for public health.” Public health—Methodology, environmental and systems issues, J. Maddock, ed., InTech, Rijeka, Croatia.
Maynard, A., et al. (2006). “Safe handling of nanotechnology.” Nature, 444(7117), 267–269.
Moghadam, B. Y., Hou, W.-C., Corredor, C., Westerhoff, P., and Posner, J. D. (2012). “Role of nanoparticle surface functionality in the disruption of model cell membranes.” Langmuir, 28(47), 16318–16326.
Nowack, B., and Bucheli, T. D. (2007). “Occurrence, behavior and effects of nanoparticles in the environment.” Environ. Pollut., 150(1), 5–22.
Reed, R. B., et al. (2014). “Characterization of nanomaterials in metal colloid-containing dietary supplement drinks and assessment of their potential interactions after ingestions.” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2(7), 1616–1624.
Roco, M. C. (2011). “The long view of nanotechnology development: The national nanotechnology initiative at 10 years.” J. Nanopart. Res., 13(2), 427–445.
Roco, M. C., Mirkin, C. A., and Hersam, M. C. (2011). “Nanotechnology research directions for societal needs in 2020: Summary of international study.” J. Nanopart. Res., 13(3), 897–919.
Roco, M. C., and Pinna, N. (2014). “Journal of nanoparticle research: Looking forward.” J. Nanopart. Res., 16(4), 2331.
Som, C., Wick, P., Krug, H., and Nowack, B. (2011). “Environmental and health effects of nanomaterials in nanotextiles and façade coatings.” Environ. Int., 37(6), 1131–1142.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS). (2014). “Nanotechnology consumer product inventory.” 〈http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories〉 (Apr. 15, 2014).
Yang, Y., Bi, X., Westerhoff, P., Hristovski, K., and McLain, J. E. (2014). “Engineered nanomaterials impact biological carbon conversion in soil.” Environ. Eng. Sci., 31(7), 381–392.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 20 • Issue 1 • January 2016
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 24, 2014
Accepted: Oct 9, 2014
Published online: Oct 28, 2014
Discussion open until: Mar 28, 2015
Published in print: Jan 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.