Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Engineering:
• Elimination or substitution
+
• Isolation or containment
• Ventilation
Administration:
• Employee training
• Work procedures
• Labeling and storage
• Housekeeping
• Personal hygiene
• Ta sk duration
-
PPE:
• Respirator, clothing, and goggles
FIGURE 2.3
The relative priority of different control categories and specific measures.
CAUTION
Nanomaterial sample
Consisting of
[Technical description here]
In case of
Container breakage
Contact:
[Point of contact]
at
[Contact's telephone number]
FIGURE 2.4
Recommended package labeling for transfer and storage of nanomaterials.
employee exposures. As described previously, engineering controls are most cost effective when
they are considered at the early design stage, implemented close to the emission sources, and gener-
ally independent of the workers' involvement.
2.5.1.1 Elimination or Substitution
As they are synthesized and used for their unique properties, it is often not feasible to eliminate or
substitute the nanomaterials themselves. However, substitution opportunities do exist for process
modifications. For example, substituting dry production processes (i.e., nanomaterials in dry pow-
der form) with wet ones (i.e., in liquid suspension), optimizing the operating conditions to a less
“energetic” process, and substituting for nontoxic or less hazardous alternative solvents. When the
above measures are applicable, elimination and substitution are among the most effective means of
exposure control. For more information and successful examples of alternative assessment method-
ologies, process changes, or chemical substitutions, the readers are referred to the EPA's Design for
the Environment (DfE; http://www.epa.gov/dfe/alternative_assessments.html) and the Toxics Use
Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (http://www.turi.org).
