New Tools to Support the Risk Assessment Process of Nanomaterials in the Insurance Sector

Abstract

During the last decade, the use of nanomaterials, due to their multiple utilities, has exponentially increased. Nanomaterials have unique properties such as a larger specific surface area and surface activity, which may result in health and environmental hazards different from those demonstrated by the same materials in bulk form. Besides, due to their small size, they can easily penetrate through the environmental and biological barriers. In terms of exposure potential, the vast majority of studies are focused on workplace areas, where inhalation is the most common route of exposure. The main route of entry into the environment is due to indirect emissions of nanomaterials from industrial settings, as well as uncontrollable releases into the environment during the use, recycling and disposal of nano-enabled products. Accidental spills during production or later transport of nanomaterials and release from wear and tear of materials containing nanomaterials may lead to potential exposure. In this sense, a proper understanding of all significant risks due to the exposure to nanomaterials that might result in a liability claim has been proved to be necessary. In this paper, the utility of an application for smartphones developed for the insurance sector has been validated as a solution for the analysis and evaluation of the emerging risk of the application of nanotechnology in the market. Different exposure scenarios for nanomaterials have been simulated with this application. The results obtained have been compared with real scenarios, corroborating that the use of novel tools can be used by companies that offer risk management in the form of insurance contracts.

Towards anin silicointegrated approach for testing and assessment of nanomaterials: from predicted indoor air concentrations to lung dose and biodistribution

“…Case-by-case determination of exposure and hazard data for each application and individual NM variant is not possible due to the time and cost required, as well as the ethical challenges inherent in animal experimentation, and thus there is a strong motivation to develop in silico models that can predict human exposure to, and impacts of, NMs based on a reduced set of input parameters, as part of an integrated approach to testing and assessment (IATA). An example of the use of computational tools in the context of risk assessment was introduced by Mollá et al , 1 who recently proposed NanoSerpa, an application for the risk assessment of NMs in the insurance sector, which was developed by integrating hazard-related data and optimized exposure models. The focus of NanoSerpa is on estimation of the insurance liability arising from accidental NMs spills during production, transport or use of NMs-containing products, based on input data regarding the type of NM and the accident scenario, utilising probabilistic models to predict emission, health hazard values and risk indices.…”

“…The focus of NanoSerpa is on estimation of the insurance liability arising from accidental NMs spills during production, transport or use of NMs-containing products, based on input data regarding the type of NM and the accident scenario, utilising probabilistic models to predict emission, health hazard values and risk indices. 1 Other tools for risk assessment of NMs are also emerging, including hazard classification tools, 2–4 screening level models for predicting NMs transport and concentrations in the environment such as SimpleBox4Nano, 5,6 and probabilistic models of NMs flows 7,8 from production to waste treatment. However, the various models have yet to be made inter-operable and combined into an overall IATA in order to facilitate complete ( in silico ) risk assessment.…”