7 research outputs found
Nanomaterials in construction and demolition - how can we assess the risk if we don't know where they are?
This paper was presented at the 4th International Conference on Safe Production and Use of Nanomaterials (Nanosafe2014) it was published as an Open Access article by IOP Publishing Ltd in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. It is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This research, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health in the
United Kingdom, has used a combination of literature review, web searching and unstructured
interviews with a range of industry professionals to compile a list of products used in
construction and the built environment which might contain nanomaterials. Samples of these
products have been analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive XRay
Spectroscopy to investigate whether nanomaterials are actually present and to what extent.
Preliminary results of this testing are presented here. It is concluded that there is a discrepancy
between the academic literature and the reality regarding the current application of
nanomaterials in the construction industry and the built environment. There are also
inaccuracies and deficiencies in the information provided by manufacturers which makes it
difficult to accurately assess the location and application of nanomaterials within the industry.
Further testing is planned to evaluate the risk of nanoparticle release from nano-enabled
building products at their end of life by reproducing common demolition and recycling
processes such as crushing, grinding, burning and melting. Results of this will form the basis of
practical guidance for the construction, demolition and recycling industries to help them
identify where particular protection or control measures may be appropriate as well as
providing reassurance where no additional action is required