Nanotechnology Work
Health & Safety
Dr Howard Morris
International Workshop on the Risk
Assessment of Manufactured
Nanomaterials
8-9 October 2012
9 October 2012
Safe Work Australia
• Responsibility for improving work health and safety and
workers’ compensation arrangements across Australia
• Partnership between governments, unions and industry
• Safe Work Australia agency:
– Australian Government statutory agency
– Jointly funded by the Commonwealth, state and
territory governments
2
Model WHS Legislation
• Council of Australia Governments formally committed to
the harmonisation of WHS laws (July 2008)
• The model work health and safety legislation consists of
an integrated package:
– model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act
– model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations
– model Codes of Practice
– National Compliance and Enforcement Policy
• New WHS laws commenced in NSW, Queensland, ACT,
Commonwealth and Northern Territory, 1 January 2012
3
Workplace Risk Assessment
• A risk assessment helps determine:
– how severe a risk is
– whether any existing control measures are effective
– what action you should take to control the risk
– how urgently the action needs to be taken
Code of Practice – How to manage work health & safety risks
4
WHS Regulations – Risk Assessment
• Mandatory for specified activities
– Confined space work
– Work on energised electrical
equipment
– General diving work
– Working with asbestos
• Not mandated generally
– e.g. for hazardous chemicals
– but in many circumstances risk
assessment will be the best way
to determine how to control risks
Code of Practice - How to Manage
Work Health and Safety Risks
5
Application of work health and safety
regulatory framework to nanotechnologies
• Obligations under work health and safety legislation need
to be met for nanomaterials and nanotechnologies
• Risk assessment will generally be needed
• Issues being addressed to help ensure effective WHS
regulation and risk management
– Nanotechnology Work Health & Safety Program
– Supported by funding under the National Enabling
Technologies Strategy
• Where understanding of nanomaterial hazards is limited
– Recommend precautionary approach to prevent or
minimise workplace exposures
6
Nanotechnology Work Health & Safety
Program – Published reports
Plus
• Durability of carbon nanotubes and their potential to cause inflammation
• Nanoparticles from printer emissions in workplace environments
• Health effects of laser printer emissions measured as particles
7
Safe Work Australia’s national
stakeholder groups
• Nanotechnology Work Health & Safety
Advisory Group
– Promoting a coordinated national
approach to the management of
nanotechnology work health & safety
issues
• Nanotechnology Work Health & Safety
Measurement Reference Group
– Developing nanomaterials exposure and
emissions measurement capability
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Safe Work Australia’s participation in
nanotechnology forums
Australian
• National Enabling Technologies Strategy
• Standards Australia Nanotechnologies Committee (Chair)
International
• ISO Nanotechnologies Technical Committee
• OECD WPMN
• NanoRelease
• Liaison with international partners
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Supporting Regulation
Exposure standards for nanomaterials
Type of
Standard/Limit
Substance
Size of material
Exposure Standard/Limit
8hr TWA, mg/m 3
Australian WES
Graphite (all forms
except fibres)
Respirable
3 (respirable)
Australian WES
Carbon black
Nanomaterial
3 (inhalable)
US NIOSH
Proposed REL
Carbon nanofibres,
including CNTs
Nanomaterial
0.007
Japan AIST
Proposed EL
Fullerenes
Nanomaterial
0.39
Australian WES
Crystalline silica
Respirable
0.1 (respirable)
Australian WES
Amorphous silica
Inhalable
10 (inhalable)
Australian WES
Fumed silica
Nanomaterial
2 (respirable)
US NIOSH REL
TiO2
Nanomaterial
0.3
US NIOSH REL
TiO2
Fine size fraction
2.4
Australian WES
TiO2
Inhalable
10 (inhalable)
10
Supporting Regulation
SDS & Workplace Labelling
•
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and workplace labels must be
provided if chemical classified as hazardous
– Many engineered & manufactured nanomaterials are not
currently classified
– Issues with SDS & labels for nanomaterials (J.Frangos,
Toxikos 2010)
•
Model Codes of Practice for SDS & Workplace Labelling
– Recommend SDS/label should be provided for
engineered or manufactured nanomaterials unless
evidence they are not hazardous
•
International engagement on SDS
– ISO TC229 project: Preparation of safety data sheets for
manufactured nanomaterials
– UN Sub-Committee of Experts for the Globally
Harmonised System for the Classification & Labelling of
Chemicals (GHS)
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Understanding health hazards
Duty under WHS Regulations to classify according to the GHS
•
Considerable knowledge on health impacts of fine & ultrafine
particulate air pollution
•
Experimental procedures must be considered when drawing
possible implications for worker health impact
•
Many factors impact on toxicity
– Generally more toxic than macrosize
– Range of hazard severities, depending on particle type
•
Carbon nanotubes
– Potentially hazardous, irrespective of whether fibre-like
structure or not
Engineered Nanomaterials: A review of the
toxicology & health hazards (R. Drew, Toxikos 2009)
12
Understanding health hazards
Current projects
• On-chip cell sorting device for high-throughput
nanotoxicity studies (N.Voelcker et al, Uni SA)
• Update to Engineered Nanomaterials: A review of the
toxicology & health hazards (R. Drew et al, ToxConsult)
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Hazards of carbon nanotubes - Projects
•
Durability of carbon nanotubes & their potential to cause
inflammation (M. Osmond et al, CSIRO/IOM/Edinburgh University
2011)
– Carbon nanotubes can be durable but may break down in
simulated lung fluid, depending on sample type
– If fibre-like and sufficiently long, carbon nanotubes can induce
asbestos-like responses in the peritoneal cavity of mice, but this
response is significantly reduced if nanotubes are less durable
– Tightly agglomerated particle-like bundles of carbon nanotubes
did not cause an inflammatory response in the peritoneal cavity
of mice
•
Human health hazard assessment & classification of carbon
nanotubes (NICNAS)
– Recommends carbon nanotubes classified as hazardous
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Health risk from laser printer particle
emissions
• Based on exposures measured in Laser printer emissions in
workplace environments (P.McGarry et al, QUT/WHSQ 2011)
– Majority of nanoparticle exposure experienced by
workers did not come from printers but from other
sources
• Comparison of laser printer particle emissions with
Australian & international benchmarks
• Risk of direct toxicity and health effects from exposure to
laser printer particle emissions for most people is negligible,
but people responsive to unusual or unexpected odours may
detect and react to the presence of emissions
A brief review of health effects of laser printer emissions (Toxikos 2011)
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Safety hazards of nanomaterials
• Potential safety risk e.g. fire & explosion
– High surface area/unit mass
• Focus on examining potential explosivity
– Comparing properties with micron-sized particles
– Examining different types of nanomaterials
• Parameters examined:
– Minimum explosive concentration (MEC)
– Minimum ignition energy (MIE)
– Severity of explosion (Rmax)
Evaluation of potential safety (physicochemical) hazards associated
with the use of engineered nanomaterials (Toxikos)
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Potential exposure & designing
workplace controls for nanomaterials
•
Potential exposure
– Material & application dependent
•
Control of exposure
– Conventional controls can
effectively reduce exposures
– Apply the hierarchy of control
N. Jackson et al, RMIT University 2009
– Control banding approaches can be
used
G. Benke et al, Monash University 2010
Use of PPE when working
in fume cabinet with
engineered nanomaterials
(CSIRO, 2009)
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Effectiveness of workplace controls
Process enclosure & LEV
Process enclosure
Blending with carbon nanotubes for composites.
(Han et al, Inhalation Toxicology, 2008)
Number of
CNTs/cm3
Before process
enclosure
After process
enclosure
Personal
193.6
0.018
Area
172.9
0.05
Process 2 - C
7.00E+04
6.00E+04
extrusion
machine
started polyurethane
additive only
5.00E+04
extraction
turned off
extraction turned
back on
clay
added to
hopper
extrusion
stopped
4.00E+04
local
extraction
ventilation
turned on
3.00E+04
2.00E+04
1.00E+04
13:12
12:57
12:43
12:28
12:14
12:00
11:45
11:31
11:16
0.00E+00
11:02
Particle Number Concentration (p cm-3)
opened
extruder
plate
release
artificial
smoke
Time
CPC3781 background
CPC3781 at source
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LEV Effectiveness
From McGarry et al (2012)
•
Effectiveness of workplace controls
Can filter materials capture
nanoparticles?
YES
– MPPS around 300nm
for HEPA filters
– Capture mechanism
depends on particle
diameter Nanosafe2, 2008
• Capture efficiency depends
Reference
on:
– Flow rate
Martin & Moyer
– Type of filter material (2000)
Engineered nanomaterials: Effectiveness of
workplace controls
N. Jackson et al, RMIT University (2009)
Filter material type
& certification
Filtration efficiency for
particles <100 nm
N95,
<5% penetration
<5% penetration
Richardson et
al. (2005)
N95,
<5% penetration
<5% for low flow rate
Max >5%, high flow rate
Richardson et
al. (2005)
P100,
<0.03% penetration
<0.03% for low flow rate
Max >0.03%, high flow rate
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Measuring workplace exposures &
emissions of manufactured nanomaterials
Measurement challenges
1.2e+5
– Tend to agglomerate
1.0e+5
– Background nanoparticles
•
Which parameters to measure?
-3
– Many different types
dN/dlogdP / cm
•
8.0e+4
6.0e+4
4.0e+4
– Mass concentration
2.0e+4
– Number concentration
0.0
– Size distribution
– Shape and chemistry
– Surface area
after 16min
after 32min
after 44min
after 60min
after 76min
after 92min
10
100
Particle Diameter / nm
Size distributions of Pt particles after release in a clean exposure
chamber. NANOTRANSPORT (2008):
The Behaviour of Aerosols Released to Ambient Air
from Nanoparticle Manufacturing
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Approach for nanomaterials emissions
and exposure measurement in workplace
3-tiered approach can be used
• Tier 1 assessment - standard occupational hygiene
survey of process area & measurements to identify
likely points of particle emission
• Tier 2 assessment - measuring particle number and
mass concentration to evaluate emission sources &
workers’ breathing zone exposures
• Tier 3 assessment - repeat Tier 2 measurements &
simultaneous collection of particles for off-line analysis
Measurements of Particle Emissions from Nanotechnology Processes,
with Assessment of Measuring Techniques and Workplace Controls.
(QUT/WHSQ, 2012)
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Workplace measurement approaches
Approaches consistent
• Measurements of Particle Emissions from Nanotechnology
Processes, with Assessment of Measuring Techniques and
Workplace Controls (QUT/WHSQ, 2012)
• Emission Assessment for Identification of Sources and Release
of Airborne Manufactured Nanomaterials in the Workplace:
Compilation of Existing Guidance (OECD WPMN, 2009)
• Nanoparticle Emission Assessment Technique (NEAT)
(US NIOSH, 2010)
Current projects
• OECD WPMN project on measurement of nanomaterials in air
(QUT, WHSQ & Safe Work Australia)
• ARC Linkage - QUT, WHSQ, National Measurement Institute &
Safe Work Australia
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Guidance, training & information
•
•
•
Work health and safety assessment tool for handling engineered
nanomaterials (2010)
Safe handling & use of carbon nanotubes (G.Haywood, CSIRO 2012).
• With detailed hazard analysis and exposure assessment
• By Control Banding
Information sheets
− Use of laser printers
− Safe handling of carbon nanotubes
− Measuring and assessing emissions and exposures
Under development
• Nanotechnology WHS Training Course (N.Jackson et al, RMIT
University)
• ISO TC 229 projects on WHS risk management for manufactured
nanomaterials
Safe Work Australia website - www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
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Bringing together research, regulation, guidance &
training - Addressing carbon nanotubes
•
Understanding hazards
– Review of nanomaterials health hazards (Toxikos)
– Durability of carbon nanotubes and their potential to cause
inflammation (CSIRO/IOM/Edinburgh University)
•
Regulation
– Health hazard assessment for classification (NICNAS)
•
Measurement of emissions/exposures
– Detection in the workplace (CSIRO)
– Determining/validating suitable techniques (QUT/WHSQ)
– Potential emissions from solid articles from machining (CSIRO)
•
Guidance & training materials
– Safe handling & use of carbon nanotubes (CSIRO)
– Nanotechnology WHS training course (RMIT University)
24
Summary
• Obligations under Work Health and Safety legislation need
to be met for nanomaterials and nanotechnologies.
• Risk assessment will generally be needed for
manufactured nanomaterials
• Issues are being addressed through the Nanotechnology
Work Health and Safety Program
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Further Information
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
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