Novel concepts, methods and technologies for the production of portable, easy-to-use devices for the measurement and analysis of airborne engineered nanoparticles in workplace air (NanoDevice).
The unique properties of nanoparticles are seeing increasingly frequent exploitation in technical processes, being used in industrial and consumer products alike. These properties however prompt concerns regarding the substances’ possibly harmful impacts upon human beings and the environment. Determining exposure to nanoparticles in workplace atmospheres must take account of a range of properties, such as their quantity, surface area, mass, composition, reactivity, geometry and solubility. In particular, virtually no suitable devices existed specifically for measuring nanoparticles in a workplace context.
The project was to yield improved methods and devices for determining exposure to nanoparticles, particularly portable devices. A family of portable devices was to be developed for directly determining a range of relevant nanoparticle properties at suitable sampling rates.
The Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (IFA) of the German Social Accident Insurance was particularly involved in practical trials of the new devices.
The prototypes (samplers and monitors) developed in the project were employed at workplaces in a pilot study and a main study by IFA, and their use and the results obtained with them evaluated. The descriptions of the prototypes of several companies and institutes can be found under www.nano-device.eu .
Besides development of the devices, reference materials were characterized and manufactured for the generation of aerosols, and their biological efficacy was studied.
More information: http://www.dguv.de/webcode/ep54092
