Work

Towards safe and sustainable by design nanomaterials: Risk and sustainability assessment on two nanomaterial case studies at early stages of development

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Safe and Sustainable by Design approach for nanomaterials is difficult to apply. • Open-access assessment tools are tested on two lab-scale nanomaterial protocols. • Tested tools can guide decision-making at early-stage nanomaterial development. • Correct Functional Unit definition is crucial for Risk and Life Cycle assessment. • More nano-specific environmental impacts and unified descriptors are needed. Nanomaterials (NNMs) have undoubtedly caused significant improvements in multiple aspects of life, with several applications in different fields, and continuous innovations to make their production and use safer for human health and the environment. Despite their evident benefits, compared to bulk components, a lot of criticism has accompanied their development and widespread application, considering their potentially harmful impacts upon release, the uncertainty regarding disposal or recycling at the end of their lifecycle, and the resource-intensive methodologies often required for their manufacture. To mitigate the risks associated with NNMs, several approaches have been proposed to estimate the health and sustainability impacts along their lifecycle, such as Risk Assessment (RA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), performed either individually or integrated in a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach. However, multiple differences exist in the methodology and scope of these assessments, often resulting in difficulties to combine them, or conflicting results between them. In this context, different open access tools for RA and LCA (i.e., NanoSafer, Stoffenmanager Nano, USES-LCA, openLCA), with potential applicability in SSbD, as well as a combined screening RA and LCA tool (i.e., LICARA nanoscan tool), have been examined in this paper for application in early-stage Research and Development of NNMs, with focus on two use cases: carbon NNMs (i.e., as heterogeneous catalyst supports) and metal nanoparticles (i.e., as antimicrobial coatings for surfaces). The application of tools in each case study, the significance of the functional unit definition on the outcome, and the comparison of the results achieved with each tool, are reported. Overall, this work aims to demonstrate the applicability of selected tools towards SSbD for NNMs, to bring NNM SSbD closer to practical implementation, and to support end-users.

Source: Sustainable Futures

DOI: 10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100511

Authors: Konstantina-Roxani Chatzipanagiotou, Foteini Petrakli, Joséphine Steck, Cécile Philippot, Sébastien Artous, Elias P. Koumoulos

Institutions: Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Laboratoire d’Innovation pour les Technologies des Énergies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux

Language: English

Topic: Environmental Impact and Sustainability

Subfield: Environmental Engineering

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,340