Nanotechnology Work Health & Safety

Dr Howard Morris

International Workshop on the Risk Assessment of Manufactured

Nanomaterials8-9 October 2012

9 October 2012

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

6

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

7

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

8

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

9

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

10

Supporting Regulation Exposure standards for nanomaterialsType of Standard/Limit

Substance Size of material Exposure Standard/Limit8hr TWA, mg/m3

Australian WES Graphite (all forms except fibres)

Respirable 3 (respirable)

Australian WES Carbon black Nanomaterial 3 (inhalable)

US NIOSHProposed REL

Carbon nanofibres, including CNTs

Nanomaterial 0.007

Japan AISTProposed 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)

11

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)

12

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)

13

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)

14

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

15

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)

16

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)

17

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 workingin fume cabinet withengineered nanomaterials (CSIRO, 2009)

18

Effectiveness of workplace controlsProcess enclosure & LEV

Number of CNTs/cm3

Before process enclosure

After process enclosure

Personal 193.6 0.018

Area 172.9 0.05

Process enclosure

Blending with carbon nanotubes for composites.

(Han et al, Inhalation Toxicology, 2008)

Process 2 - C

0.00E+00

1.00E+04

2.00E+04

3.00E+04

4.00E+04

5.00E+04

6.00E+04

7.00E+04

11:0

2

11:1

6

11:3

1

11:4

5

12:0

0

12:1

4

12:2

8

12:4

3

12:5

7

13:1

2

Time

Par

ticl

e N

um

ber

Co

nce

ntr

atio

n (

p c

m-3

)

CPC3781 background CPC3781 at source

release artificial smoke

extrusion machine started - polyurethane additive only clay

added to hopper

opened extruder plate

local extractionventilationturned on

extraction turned off

extraction turned back on

extrusion stopped

LEV Effectiveness

From McGarry et al (2012)

19

Effectiveness of workplace controlsCan filter materials capture

nanoparticles? • YES

– MPPS around 300nm for HEPA filters

– Capture mechanism depends on particle diameter Nanosafe2, 2008

• Capture efficiency depends on:– Flow rate– Type of filter material

Engineered nanomaterials: Effectiveness of

workplace controls

N. Jackson et al, RMIT University (2009)

Reference Filter material type & certification

Filtration efficiency for particles <100 nm

Martin & Moyer (2000)

N95, <5% penetration

<5% penetration

Richardson et al. (2005)

N95, <5% penetration

<5% for low flow rateMax >5%, high flow rate

Richardson et al. (2005)

P100, <0.03% penetration

<0.03% for low flow rateMax >0.03%, high flow rate

20

Measuring workplace exposures & emissions of manufactured nanomaterials

• Measurement challenges

– Many different types

– Tend to agglomerate

– Background nanoparticles

• Which parameters to measure?

– Mass concentration

– Number concentration

– Size distribution

– Shape and chemistry

– Surface area

Particle Diameter / nm

10 100d

N/d

log

dP /

cm-3

0.0

2.0e+4

4.0e+4

6.0e+4

8.0e+4

1.0e+5

1.2e+5

after 16minafter 32minafter 44minafter 60minafter 76minafter 92min

Size distributions of Pt particles after release in a clean exposure chamber. NANOTRANSPORT (2008): The Behaviour of Aerosols Released to Ambient Airfrom Nanoparticle Manufacturing

21

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)

22

Workplace measurement approachesApproaches 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

23

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

24

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)

25

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

26

Further Information

www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au