Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory
Widespread production and use of engineered nanomaterials in industrial and research settings raise concerns about their health impact in the workplace. In the last years, graphene-based nanomaterials have gained particular interest in many application fields. Among them, graphene nanoplatelets (GNP...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-08-01
|
| Series: | Nanomaterials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/8/1520 |
| _version_ | 1827711711187042304 |
|---|---|
| author | Irene Bellagamba Fabio Boccuni Riccardo Ferrante Francesca Tombolini Fabrizio Marra Maria Sabrina Sarto Sergio Iavicoli |
| author_facet | Irene Bellagamba Fabio Boccuni Riccardo Ferrante Francesca Tombolini Fabrizio Marra Maria Sabrina Sarto Sergio Iavicoli |
| author_sort | Irene Bellagamba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Widespread production and use of engineered nanomaterials in industrial and research settings raise concerns about their health impact in the workplace. In the last years, graphene-based nanomaterials have gained particular interest in many application fields. Among them, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) showed superior electrical, optical and thermal properties, low-cost and availability. Few and conflicting results have been reported about toxicity and potential effects on workers’ health, during the production and handling of these nanostructures. Due to this lack of knowledge, systematic approaches are needed to assess risks and quantify workers’ exposure to GNPs. This work applies a multi-metric approach to assess workers’ exposure during the production of GNPs, based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) methodology by integrating real-time measurements and personal sampling. In particular, we analyzed the particle number concentration, the average diameter and the lung deposited surface area of airborne nanoparticles during the production process conducted by thermal exfoliation in two different ways, compared to the background. These results have been integrated by electron microscopic and spectroscopic analysis on the filters sampled by personal impactors. The study identifies the process phases potentially at risk for workers and reports quantitative information about the parameters that may influence the exposure in order to propose recommendations for a safer design of GNPs production process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:00:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d0ce0e895cc14341a7545dd05e5b0606 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:00:23Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-d0ce0e895cc14341a7545dd05e5b06062023-11-20T08:59:14ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912020-08-01108152010.3390/nano10081520Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D LaboratoryIrene Bellagamba0Fabio Boccuni1Riccardo Ferrante2Francesca Tombolini3Fabrizio Marra4Maria Sabrina Sarto5Sergio Iavicoli6Research Center for Nanotechnology Applied to Engineering (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, I-00185 Rome, ItalyItalian Workers’ Compensation Authority—Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Fontana Candida 1, I-00078 Rome, ItalyItalian Workers’ Compensation Authority—Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Fontana Candida 1, I-00078 Rome, ItalyItalian Workers’ Compensation Authority—Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Fontana Candida 1, I-00078 Rome, ItalyResearch Center for Nanotechnology Applied to Engineering (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, I-00185 Rome, ItalyResearch Center for Nanotechnology Applied to Engineering (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, I-00185 Rome, ItalyItalian Workers’ Compensation Authority—Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Fontana Candida 1, I-00078 Rome, ItalyWidespread production and use of engineered nanomaterials in industrial and research settings raise concerns about their health impact in the workplace. In the last years, graphene-based nanomaterials have gained particular interest in many application fields. Among them, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) showed superior electrical, optical and thermal properties, low-cost and availability. Few and conflicting results have been reported about toxicity and potential effects on workers’ health, during the production and handling of these nanostructures. Due to this lack of knowledge, systematic approaches are needed to assess risks and quantify workers’ exposure to GNPs. This work applies a multi-metric approach to assess workers’ exposure during the production of GNPs, based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) methodology by integrating real-time measurements and personal sampling. In particular, we analyzed the particle number concentration, the average diameter and the lung deposited surface area of airborne nanoparticles during the production process conducted by thermal exfoliation in two different ways, compared to the background. These results have been integrated by electron microscopic and spectroscopic analysis on the filters sampled by personal impactors. The study identifies the process phases potentially at risk for workers and reports quantitative information about the parameters that may influence the exposure in order to propose recommendations for a safer design of GNPs production process.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/8/1520nanotechnologiesgraphene nanoplatelets2D nanostructuresoccupational safety and healthexposure assessmentrisk mitigation |
| spellingShingle | Irene Bellagamba Fabio Boccuni Riccardo Ferrante Francesca Tombolini Fabrizio Marra Maria Sabrina Sarto Sergio Iavicoli Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory Nanomaterials nanotechnologies graphene nanoplatelets 2D nanostructures occupational safety and health exposure assessment risk mitigation |
| title | Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory |
| title_full | Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory |
| title_fullStr | Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory |
| title_short | Workers’ Exposure Assessment during the Production of Graphene Nanoplatelets in R&D Laboratory |
| title_sort | workers exposure assessment during the production of graphene nanoplatelets in r d laboratory |
| topic | nanotechnologies graphene nanoplatelets 2D nanostructures occupational safety and health exposure assessment risk mitigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/8/1520 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT irenebellagamba workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT fabioboccuni workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT riccardoferrante workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT francescatombolini workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT fabriziomarra workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT mariasabrinasarto workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory AT sergioiavicoli workersexposureassessmentduringtheproductionofgraphenenanoplateletsinrdlaboratory |