Modeling the Environmental Release and Exposure of Engineered Nanomaterials

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are used in a broad spectrum of consumer products. The particle size at the nano-range gives ENMs particular physicochemical properties that may lead to exceptional performance regarding parameters such as e.g. surface reactivity, conductivity, porosity, solubility, crystallinity, optical sensitivity, bio-persistence, etc. Apart from a large range of potential benefits to the human health and the environment, the use of materials with such particular properties could also cause dangerous interactions with human and environmental systems. The research community is faced with a risky lack of adequate methodologies to investigate these potentially harmful environmental effects of materials at such a small scale. Consequently, there is a distinct knowledge gap concerning the risks caused by the environmental release of and exposure to such materials. There is no doubt that current and future ENM production quantities release them into the environment.