Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The.rapid.explosion.of.production.and.use.of.engineered.nanoparticles.has.outpaced.
the. scientiic. community's. ability. to. monitor. their. presence. in. the. environment..
Without.measurement.data,.it.is.not.possible.to.fully.evaluate.whether.the.promises.
of.nanoparticles.are.accompanied.by.signiicant.ecological.or.human.health.risks..
Numerous.national.and.international.agencies.and.research.groups.have.recognized.
this. gap. and. put. in. place. research. programs. to. address. it.. However,. the. technical.
requirements. for. the. detection. and. characterization. of. nanoparticles. in. complex.
environmental. systems.push.the.limits.of.current.sampling. techniques.and.instru
-
mentation..In.most.cases,.multiple.complementary.measurements.are.likely.neces-
sary.to.detect.and.understand.the.importance.of.nanoparticles.in.air,.water,.or.soil.
because.physical.properties.as.well.as.chemical.composition.determine.activity.and.
environmental.impact.or.risk..Environmental.analyses.of.nanoparticles.are.not.com-
mon.offerings.at.commercial.environmental.laboratories.at.this.time,.and.they.are.
not.likely.to.become.so.in.the.near.future.
In. the. manufacturing. industry,. the. development. and. production. of. nanoparti-
cle. materials. for. commercial. applications. are. supported. by. an. array. of. analytical.
methods..While.numerous.methods.can.successfully.characterize.the.chemistry.and.
physical.properties.of.nanoparticles.in.relatively.pure.states.and.under.deined.condi-
tions,.the.applicability.of.these.methods.to.nanoparticles.in.environmental.settings.
may.be.more.limited..Once.nanoparticles.enter.the.environment,.they.may.cluster.to.
form.larger.particles,.interact.with.particles.from.natural.sources,.or.change.chemi-
cally..Conventional.environmental.analysis.methods.as.developed.and.standardized.
by. the. U.S.. Environmental. Protection. Agency. (EPA). are. bulk. analyses;. they. can.
detect. the. primary. chemical. constituents. of. nanoparticle. materials. but. little. else.
of.use.for.characterizing.risk.from.them..In.addition,.the.target.nanoparticles.may.
only.be.a.minor.component.of.an.environmental.sample.and.fall.below.the.detec-
tion.limits.of.standard.EPA.chemical.analysis.methods..Collection.and.separation.of.
nanoparticles.from.larger.environmental.particles,.when.even.possible,.are.dificult,.
and.their.analysis.is.in.most.cases.time-consuming.and.costly..No.standard.methods.
with.prescribed.quality.control.requirements.for.environmental.nanoparticle.analy-
ses.exist,.and.only.limited.traceable.standards.have.been.developed.
Aside. from. the. technical. challenges. to. nanoparticle. measurement. in. environ-
mental. media,. the. lack. of. speciic. regulations. limits. the. incentive. for. commercial.
environmental.laboratories.to.put.in.place.the.costly.instrumentation.and.the.high.
degree.of.expertise.that.will.be.required.to.offer.nanoparticle.analyses.to.government,.
private. industry,. or. public. groups.. While. there. is. some. concern. for. possible. envi-
ronmental.risks.from.nanoparticles,.manufacturers,.users,.and.site.owners.currently.
are.not.required.to.address.these.concerns.with.actual.environmental.measurement.
data.
As. a. result,. most. technical. advances. and. data. that. do. exist. for. environmen-
tal.analyses.have.come.from.academic.laboratories.and.governmental.or.privately.
funded.research.laboratories..The.applicability.of.regulatory.statutes.as.discussed.in.
Chapter.4.of.this.topic.continues.to.be.debated..The.Toxic.Substances.Control.Act.
(TSCA),.the.Clean.Water.and.Clean.Air.Acts.(CWA,.CAA),.the.Resource.Conserva-
tion.and.Recovery.Act.(RCRA),.and.the.Federal.Insecticide,.Fungicide,.and.Roden-
ticide. Act. (FIFRA). drove. method. development. for. numerous. industrial. chemicals.
in.the.environment..Regulatory.requirements.applicable.to.nanomaterials.likewise.
