Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
exposure methods, and regulatory toxicology test methods are certain other hurdles that
need to be addressed. Therefore, before the use of ENP-based consumer products in daily
life, it is important to understand their fate in the environment to avoid imbalances in the
aquatic ecosystem.
5.4 Conclusion
In summary, to unravel the potential risks of ENPs in aquatic ecosystems, it is prudent
to undertake in-depth studies including environmental transport, trophic transfer, bio-
concentration, and magniication and trans-strata mobility. Multidisciplinary approaches,
such as particle characterization, uptake, computational modeling, and ecotoxicity mod-
els, among others, will be helpful in improving knowledge for improved study designs,
for risk modeling and assessment. The lack of data on concentration and quantitative
exposure of ENPs currently hampers the prediction of the environmental fate. However,
our current understanding of the fate of industrial chemicals, predictive modeling, and
aquatic models can provide useful insights to study design and predictive tools for rapid
risk assessment of ENPs in the aquatic environment.
Acknowledgments
Funding received from the Council of Scientiic and Industrial Research, New Delhi
(NanoSHE; BSC-0112); the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) stan-
dard award to Institute of Life Sciences, Ahmedabad University, India (grant no. IND/
CONT/E/11-12/217); and from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India,
under the NewINDIGO Scheme for NanoLINEN project is gratefully acknowledged.
Funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)
under grant agreement no. 263147 (NanoValid—Development of reference methods for
hazard identiication, risk assessment, and LCA of engineered nanomaterials) is also
acknowledged. The inancial assistance for the Centre for Nanotechnology Research and
Applications (CENTRA) by the Gujarat Institute for Chemical Technology (GICT) is also
acknowledged.
References
1. Bernhardt ES, Colman BP, Hochella MF, Jr., Cardinale BJ, Nisbet RM, Richardson CJ and Yin L.
(2010). An ecological perspective on nanomaterial impacts in the environment.
J Environ Qual
39: 1954-1965.
2. Wiesner MR, Lowry GV, Jones KL, Hochella MF, Jr., Digiulio RT, Casman E and Bernhardt
ES. (2009). Decreasing uncertainties in assessing environmental exposure, risk, and ecological
implications of nanomaterials.
Environ Sci Technol
43: 6458-6462.
