Safety of manufactured nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are up to 10 000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and are found in many products from paints to cosmetics. Yet they may have a big impact on our everyday life. So what is so special about nanomaterials? Nanomaterial may have different properties compared to the same substance in bulk form. That means that a material could change when it goes from bulk to nanoform, but at what size that happens varies depending on the substance.

Just like any other chemical substance, nanomaterials have to be assessed for their safety using appropriate tools and methodologies. For that reason, the OECD Programme on Manufactured Nanomaterials and the OECD Test Guidelines Programme collaborate to identify and develop standardised methods that can be used to generate relevant and reliable data. To intensify this endeavor and support the OECD, a three-year project called NANOMET, funded by the European Union has been launched in May 2020.

• Visit the NANOMET web page

Manufactured nanomaterials are already revolutionising the way we produce (electronic goods, tyres, clothes and medicines) which raises questions regarding potential unintended hazards to humans and the environment and whether nanomaterials need special measures to deal with potential risks.

There is a need for a responsible and co-ordinated approach to ensure that potential safety issues are being addressed at the same time as the technology is developing.

Therefore, the EHS promotes international co-operation in human health and environmental safety aspects of manufactured nanomaterials. Its objective is to assist countries in their efforts to assess the safety implications of nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology and Tyres: Elements for a Risk Assessment Framework

The best practices outlined in the Risk Assessment Framework (RAF) aim to provide a method for evaluating the potential human health and environmental concerns associated with the entire life cycle of nanomaterials used in tyres, focusing on the tyre manufacturing process.

Nanotechnology and Tyres: Greening Industry and Transport

New nanomaterials offer promising avenues for future innovation, which can contribute towards the sustainability and resource efficiency of the tyre industry. Yet uncertainty over environmental health and safety (EHS) risks appears to be a main and continuous concern for the development of new nanomaterials.

Six Years of OECD Work on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials

This brochure outlines the achievements made so far by OECD in addressing the human health and environmental safety implications of manufactured nanomaterials.

Nanosafety at the OECD : the first five years 2006-2010

This booklet describes the work that OECD is doing to address the human health and environmental safety implications associated with the use of manufactured nanomaterials. It presents the OECD Nanosafety programmes during the first five years from 2006-2010.