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'Safe Work Australia' publishes Reports and Safety Assessment Tool for Nanomaterials

Published: Monday 2 August 2010

Safe Work Australia, an independent statutory agency with primary responsibility to improve occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements across Australia, has published two research reports on engineered nanomaterials and a nanotechnology risk assessment tool.

According to the accompanying press release, Safe Work Australia had commissioned the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to undertake a survey for the report titled Engineered Nanomaterials: investigating substitution and modification options to reduce potential hazards. The survey assessed the current substitution and modification practices used in Australian nanotechnology activities. A literature review was also conducted to determine the potential substitution and modification options that may reduce the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials.

Key findings in the report include:

  • Australian researchers and companies use a range of methods to substitute or modify engineered nanomaterials.
  • Currently, substitution or modification is mainly used to change the properties of products for end-use.
  • Methods including surface modification, particle size control, and functional group addition can also be used to decrease the potential toxicity of engineered nanomaterials. There is potential for researchers, developers and manufacturers of engineered nanomaterials to apply these methods more broadly to address work health and safety related issues.
A second report had been commissioned from the Monash University Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health to undertake research for the report titled Engineered Nanomaterials: feasibility of established exposure standards and using control banding in Australia. Key findings in the report include:
  • Benchmark exposure levels are precautionary limits that can be assigned to groups of nanomaterials.
  • Benchmark exposure levels may be adopted as guidance initially and may be converted into National Exposure Standards as further hazard, risk and measurement data become available.
  • Exposure levels below the benchmark exposure levels can be achieved using conventional engineering controls.
  • The choice of appropriate workplace controls for nanomaterials can be facilitated using the control banding approach to risk management.
  • Control banding should be used in conjunction with current jurisdictional work health and safety regulations.
  • The use of both benchmark exposure levels and control banding are consistent with a precautionary approach to handling nanomaterials, as recommended by Safe Work Australia where limited information about hazards and risks is available.

Safe Work Australia has furthermore released the Work Health and Safety Assessment Tool for Handling Engineered Nanomaterials,aims to provide risk assessment organisations and regulators with a tool that records the types of nanomaterials manufactured or supplied, the processes and controls used to prevent exposure to nanoparticles and problems faced with managing nanotechnology work health and safety.

 

Follow these links to find out more about the work on nanotechnologies, conducted by Safe Work Australia, or to download the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology report on substitution and modification options, to download the Monash report on control banding, or to download the Safe Work Australia assessment tool.

Tags: Safe Work Australia, Australia, occupational health & safety, risk management, risk assessment, exposure, control banding