Exposure limits for nanoparticles: report of an international workshop on nano reference values

This article summarizes the outcome of the discussions at the international workshop on nano reference values (NRVs), which was organized by the Dutch trade unions and employers' organizations and hosted by the Social Economic Council in The Hague in September 2011. It reflects the discussions...

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Published in:The Annals of occupational hygiene 2012-07, Vol.56 (5), p.515-524
Main Authors: van Broekhuizen, Pieter, van Veelen, Wim, Streekstra, Willem-Henk, Schulte, Paul, Reijnders, Lucas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants, Occupational - chemistry
Air Pollutants, Occupational - standards
Air Pollutants, Occupational - toxicity
Brazil
Europe
Guideline Adherence
Humans
India
Industry - standards
International Cooperation
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Nanoparticles - standards
Nanoparticles - toxicity
No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level
Occupational Exposure - prevention & control
Occupational Exposure - standards
Particle Size
Reference Values
Risk Management - methods
United States
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Summary:This article summarizes the outcome of the discussions at the international workshop on nano reference values (NRVs), which was organized by the Dutch trade unions and employers' organizations and hosted by the Social Economic Council in The Hague in September 2011. It reflects the discussions of 80 international participants representing small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), large companies, trade unions, governmental authorities, research institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from many European countries, USA, India, and Brazil. Issues that were discussed concerned the usefulness and acceptability of precaution-based NRVs as a substitute for health-based occupational exposure limits (OELs) and derived no-effect levels (DNELs) for manufactured nanoparticles (NPs). Topics concerned the metrics for measuring NPs, the combined exposure to manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) and process-generated NPs, the use of the precautionary principle, the lack of information about the presence of nanomaterials, and the appropriateness of soft regulation for exposure control. The workshop concluded that the NRV, as an 8-h time-weighted average, is a comprehensible and useful instrument for risk management of professional use of MNMs with a dispersible character. The question remains whether NRVs, as advised for risk management by the Dutch employers' organization and trade unions, should be under soft regulation or that a more binding regulation is preferable.
ISSN:1475-3162
1475-3162
DOI:10.1093/annhyg/mes043