A first review of the state of scientific knowledge about synthetic
nanoparticles and OHS was published by the Canadian Institut de recherche
Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) in 2006. It revealed
that OHS knowledge was very fragmentary but that research in this field was
growing rapidly. The aim of this new document is to take stock of current
knowledge in this field and summarizes the data available until the end of 2009.

Overall, what emerges is that NP remain an important source of concern in OHS.
In fact, not only does the diversity of commercially available chemical
products of nanometric dimensions continue to increase, but also, the
information available about the hazards specific to these substances is still
very fragmentary.

The toxicity of the products, the level of dust contamination of workplaces, or
their potential to cause fires or explosions remain not extensively documented
or totally undocumented. Nevertheless, the majority of the means of exposure
control for ultrafine particles should be effective against NP and much
research is currently being carried out to confirm this. The authors propose
some avenues of research that they feel are a priority.

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AplusA-online.de - Source: Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST)