Towards Predicting Impacts of Nanomaterials in the Environment

Substantial and ongoing research investment has launched a (projected) trillion-dollar nanotech industry. As the sector matures from research into large-scale production, sub-100 nm-sized particles are becoming ubiquitous in textiles, personal care products, medical diagnostics, and consumer goods. Meanwhile, a growing body of nanotoxicology research is providing evidence that many nanoparticle forms including fullerene and metal oxides cause a variety of toxic endpoints. Over time, with lipid accumulation amplifying effective concentrations many times over those in environmental media, even dilute environmental concentrations of nanoparticles may cause serious harmful effects to predatory fish, birds, and humans.

From the literature on environmental fate and transport of hydrophobic organic contaminants, risk drivers for nanoparticles are likely to include: (1) the ability to be readily transported long distances and to accumulate and persist in soil and sediment ecosystems, (2) the potential to bioaccumulate up the food chain, and (3) toxicity to a variety of endpoints. The goal of this research is to develop a conceptual framework that shows how a limited number of physiochemical parameters can be used to predict regional-scale transport modeling and benthic accumulation of nanoparticles in rivers and estuaries. Together with an industrial ecology approach to quantify spatially distributed non-point source emissions, this approach may help policy makers identify key nanoparticle properties most likely to influence long-term environmental impacts.