Nanotechnology Safety

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council
Well being the safety geek I am, I look at different web site, such as the NIOSH web site. While in my readings I found information on safety dealing with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology—the manipulation of matter on a near-atomic scale to produce new structures, materials, and devices—offers the promise of unprecedented scientific advancement for many sec­tors, such as medicine, consumer products, energy, materials, and manufacturing. Nanotechnology has the power not only to improve existing technologies, but to dramatically enhance the effective­ness of new applications.

According to NIOSH although insufficient information ex­ists to predict the fire and explosion risk associated with powders of nano­materials, nanoscale combustible ma­terial could present a higher risk than coarser material with a similar mass concentration given its increased parti­cle surface area and potentially unique properties due to the nanoscale.

Some nanomaterials may initiate cat­alytic reactions depending on their composition and structure that would not otherwise be anticipated based on their chemical composition

Although this manual has nothing to do with fall protection, confined spaces and the like, I did find it interesting. So if you want more, check out the full document.